Céline has always been a champion of minimalist chic, even when the original founder, Céline Vipiana, was still at the helm (all the way up to 1997–it was founded in ’45). Continuing to play upon this notion of an effortlessly luxe look, only yesterday, Céline revealed its latest ad campaign with a woman who has had a resurgence in the wake of the upcoming documentary about her: Joan Didion. At age 80, Didion has become a part of a newly embraced trend in fashion–the acceptance of older women as campaign representatives of high-end brands. Didion in Spring 2015 ad campaign
Didion’s aloofness and relative ease in front of the camera not only make her an ideal candidate for “fashion spokeswoman,” but also defy the common expectation that high-fashion equals conventional beauty. More and more, this is becoming an obsolete concept in the world of fashion advertising. Only recently, Versace named Madonna (now fifty-six years old) as the face of their Spring 2015 campaign. Others in a “more advanced age bracket” have also pioneered a new trail for their juniors (see: Dolce & Gabbana’s 2015 Spring campaign). Madonna is another trailblazer for shattering notions of having “young” women only in fashion ad campaigns
As we propel further into the twenty-first century and are finally forced to admit that women (and sometimes men) are living well into their eighties without actually looking like the old lady archetype in this day and age, Didion is one of the first to take this important step toward a less ageist view of fashion, particularly in America.
