Last week, Alexis Bittar became the latest fashion brand to introduce a 2015 ad campaign with unlikely models. What does it say when couture heavy hitters choose faces like Joan Didion, Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley’s sons and now 93-year-old Iris Apfel to front their advertising creative?
Alexis Bittar has consistently challenged industry standards when it comes to beauty and youth. But the juxtaposition of his muse and maternal figure Iris Apfel against 18-year-old fashion writer and feminist Tavi Gevinson suggests age is irrelevant when it comes to style. Gevinson became an online sensation at the tender age of 11 when she launched her now-defunct (she’s moved on to bigger things) blog StyleRookie.
We see this concept of blurring the age lines when it comes to architecture and interior design as well and it’s resulting in a focus on neutral tones. Our client at Lucite International said it best in a blog post about 2015 design trends to watch:
“This trend is all about … erasing age and gender differences. Ageless youth, ‘60 is the new 40 type of thinking’, fashion for all generations and an impossibility to judge age as a certainty.” — Beth Almond, ASID
It will be interesting to see if brands outside of fashion tap into the idea of age as a non-issue. Please share any examples you stumble upon.