Mature Model Trend Grows As American Apparel Cast Grey-Haired Beauty

The bloggers here at Models Direct have talked about age diversity in the modelling industry before and always get excited when we see a well-defined wrinkle or flicker of grey hair in a sea of peachy youth.

Mature model Jacky for American Apparel’s New ‘Advanced Basics' Campaign
Mature model Jacky for American Apparel’s New ‘Advanced Basics' Campaign
Grey-haired Jacky in another shot for American Apparel’s New ‘Advanced Basics' Campaign
Grey-haired Jacky in another shot for American Apparel’s New ‘Advanced Basics' Campaign

The bloggers here at Models Direct have talked about age diversity in the modelling industry before and always get excited when we see a well-defined wrinkle or flicker of grey hair in a sea of peachy youth.

That’s why we’re happy to see that American Apparel has just cast a mature model for a campaign promoting their Basics line.

The 61-year-old, named Jacky, is new to modelling and we’re pretty sure she’s the very first model to rock naturally grey hair in an American Apparel ad.

Spotting by chance in the city, American Apparel said: “There was something so compelling about Jacky’s look and energy when we first spotted her in a New York restaurant this winter, we introduced ourselves and pulled up a chair. During a long discussion that touched on everything from career choices and nutrition to insights on relationships, age and beauty, we asked if she would consider being photographed by us. We were thrilled when she agreed.”

So, what was the shoot like for a 61-year-old beginner? Jacky told Fashionista it was
“lots of fun”. “You know, I’ve read so many times that modelling is vapid at best. I found it to be engaging and creative. It requires energy and an ability to communicate without words. Marsha had something in mind and took a lot of care to get it right. It wasn’t a big shoot with lots of people fussing and helping, it was just Marsha with her camera so it was very personal,” she explained.

With this campaign and American Apparel’s recent gay pride ads starring transgender model Isis King, the boundary-pushing brand is becoming a firm favourite with the pro-diversity team at Models Direct.

While we see lots of coverage on size diversity, it’s easy to forget that issues surrounding age also have an impact. Models Direct are firm believers that using mature models in advertising sends a positive message; young women are able to see that beauty ages beautifully and getting older is not something that needs to be medicated, managed with surgery or obsessed about.

So, with the fashion brands and advertisers clearly beginning to appreciate models of all ages, if you’ve always wanted to try modelling but thought you were too old, maybe it’s time to have a re-think!

Check out how to become a mature model online at Models Direct and you could be pleasantly surprised with how much the industry has changed.