Nita Strudwick Photography. Model: me
A few days ago Rebecca Valentine, owner of Grey Model Agency by whom I am represented, forwarded me an email sent by a fashion student at Northampton University, Rebecca Lewis. Ms Lewis is a bright young woman currently studying to become a fashion PR and she is most interested in exploring the way age is represented in the fashion industry in connection with one of her degree projects. She had written asking whether Rebecca Valentine, in view of her experience, could comment on the following:
1. is stigmatisation of age an industry issue or is it a cultural one and
2. is it possible for brands to operate with the philosophy of no age demographics? Instead of targeting markets focused on whether consumers fit into an age bracket, could a brand determine a consumer on the basis of their personality attributes and interests?
Rebecca Valentine wrote her own answer but she asked me to contribute my thoughts too.
And so I did. But I would like to cite in full Rebecca Valentine's answer before adding mine, as I think it is very eloquent and incisive. As both answers are quite long I shall post in two parts.
Part 1 is made up of what Rebecca Valentine wrote, Part II consists of my own contribution.
I should point out that there is a global interest in this issue of age representation, only last week, the day before the terrorist attack in the Indonesian capital, The Jakarta Post published an article about ageing and advertising by writer and social commentator Julia Suryakusuma, reblogged by Grey here
This is what Rebecca Valentine wrote to Rebecca Lewis:
"When I spoke at the Festival of Marketing Conference last year the main question asked by the marketing people in the room was 'Is age necessary as part of a brief? Implying that it is possible to create a brief without age factoring. This is an interesting and new consideration. I don’t feel it is currently very realistic as brands are so age conscious, they are still driven by the age categorisation feeling their market can and should be segmented by their generation which differs from those who went before and who follow.
Festival of Marketing panel, November 2015
Of course this is in part true and with the fast paced developments technologically the younger generation are speeding ahead with the older generations, even ‘middle age’ being left behind in the knowledge stakes. What is interesting though is that the older generations are realising this factor and are making a stirling effort to ‘catch up’, which is new.The access to information available at our fingertips is working to narrow the divide between the age groups which has never happened before and what we are experiencing now is less an age gap and more a knowledge gap.
This is allowing older people who are still questioning and engaging with the world in a proactive way to understand and collaborate with the younger generation. In turn, the younger generation are interested in the knowledge and experience the older community has accrued and can offer - much like you are doing here with this study.
The more the proactive older generation gain ground the easier and more motivated the less proactive members of that demographic become and so we see a domino effect. My feeling is that via social media and online communities this phenomenon is speeding up and the market - the general public - are becoming more savvy and more switched on to cultural changes which is pushing them to question their own part in how they are being represented and portrayed. This shift is of course reflected in buying habits as well as self-portrayal.
This is easily evidenced by my 'Specials' model, Sarah Jane Adams (Saramai) who is still an exception. She has lived her life very separate from convention, worn the clothes she likes without following fashion or trends, travelled the world in a job that is purely independent of the usual corporate framework and expressed her own life values freely as a result. I feel it is no coincidence that her Instagram page resonates to such a large and varied audience of followers, male and female, old and young. Let’s call it a breath of fresh air.
Nita Strudwick Photography. Model: me
So, the reason she is still an exception, as is Alex , (thanks Rebecca Valentine) is because up until now - the past 2 years or so, there has been a complete lack of positive representation for those over the age of 40-50, in fashion and across the media.
The film industry have been the first platform for reform in this area as we begin to see older people portrayed in greater diversity in Hollywood, the fashion and beauty industries are now following suit largely driven by a backlash in their market - the older generation who no longer wish to be sold products based on how they might make them look and feel younger. Last to take up the baton are the consumer brands in mainstream advertising.
The machine is feeling very slow to catch up with this market change which is both frustrating for an agency like Grey but also an opportunity as the market will always dictate what the brands eventually have to do.
Age discrimination has been social - historically encouraged by the older generation in the early part of last century. This became ingrained and was then driven by the younger generations in the mid to late century who wished to distance themselves from their parents and the ‘old guard’. It was during this period that branding and advertising took off and that of course was based on youth being dynamic and creative and the older people set in their ways and ‘brand loyal’.
What we are seeing now is the children and teenagers of that period - 60’s, 70’s and 80’s - who are now the older generation, but they still feel the same entitlement as in their youth and are no longer led by the media, the brands or by the perception of what they should be doing and acting.
I would like brands to try to operate a campaign that is age indifferent and that focuses entirely on type, but with any brief their must be categorisation and as a result, prejudice. What they must do from now on is recognise the dynamics within the age groups. They can no longer lump 20s and 30s in together, nor can they lump 50s+ in together. They must now find and exploit other common denominators within and across those age groups.
A good illustration of this last year was the new collection created by Chinese young designer, Youjia Jin. Her SS16 collection was inspired by her relationship with her mother and she wanted to create a collection that worked for both of them without differentiation. I am now seeing more of this generational blending and also want to encourage the same dynamic via Grey through collaborations with brands, charities and personalities.
Nita Strudwick Photography. Model: me
I feel we are at the beginning of an age revolution. Age is the last prejudice to be challenged and deconstructed. I also feel that with the help of an agency like Grey and others sprouting up in finance, health, marketing etc. that progress and change will be swift, that we will soon begin to see marketing companies and all other platforms sprouting up that are driven by an older workforce. Personally, I would like this redefining of age to come packaged in a very cool, rebellious and confrontational form initially, like the punk era that gave way to a less extreme period of expression.
So to answer your question about who or what stands out I would say Grey at the moment. Biased perhaps but I am not aware of another company who is breaking down age barriers as quickly and as thoroughly on an international basis."
Part II will follow with my own take.
A bientot.
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