- JD Williams celebrates midster women, whilst Chanel leaves them in the dark -
CHANEL AW18 MODELS COMBINED AGE 71
JD WILLIAMS COMBINED AGE 199
Despite JD Williams’ ongoing campaign for wider use of older models on the catwalk, Chanel alienated customers with their choice of childlike models walking in their autumn winter 2018 show at Paris Fashion Week recently. Regardless of the hard work the fashion industry has done over the last few years to improve diversity, over one third of the models sent strutting down the runway by Chanel were still in their teens*.
A 2017 YouGov survey conducted by online retailer JD Williams, found that 81% of UK women feel women over the age of 45 are not represented enough on fashion catwalks and a staggering 77% agree that women over 45 are not well represented in modelling and advertising.
JD Williams - the UK’s leading online retailer for women aged 45 plus, continued its work in improving representation for ‘Midster’ women in the fashion industry after using a team of 45+ models and stylists in its latest SS18 campaign. The combined age of the models pictured is 199, in comparison, a backstage shot shared on Instagram by Vogue Magazine featuring four of Chanel’s models had a combined age of only 71. Chanel’s models included Cindy Crawford’s 16 year old daughter Kaia Gerber and 18 year old Roos Abels - who famously made her debut walking the Prada runway aged only 14 years old.
CEO of N Brown Group, which owns JD Williams, Angela Spindler said: “The negative connotations traditionally associated with ‘middle age’ are slowly being forgotten. Speaking from experience, this is a vibrant stage of life full of new possibilities. Women are now living more colourful and varied lives, which are better defined by their attitudes and ambitions, rather than their age which is frankly, just a number.
“As a brand, we’ve worked hard to reflect these changes in consumer mind-set, evolving our fashion designs to ensure we’re catering for our customers to allow them to feel confident and comfortable in whatever they choose to wear. We continue to use age-appropriate models in our campaigns, which is it’s something we wholeheartedly encourage other retailers to do. For us, it’s about ensuring that these women are represented - and celebrated!”
