British plus-size fashion designer Anna Scholz is all about a more inclusive fashion landscape, and you don't have to look much farther than her fall campaign to see that in action. Scholz tapped Nicola Griffin, a 55-year-old relative newcomer to the modeling word with glimmering gray locks, for the ads, which are captioned with the hashtag #exclusivelyplussize and the tagline "My Favourite Age Is Now."
"Anna Scholz is a true believer that fashion should be made available to any woman, no matter her size, shape, or age. These images of Nicola are a representation of a positive, strong, and accomplished woman who not only loves fashion but has effortless style," according to a release from the label. "Our aim is to show that women are beautiful, strong and perfect just the way they are."
And the way Griffin is, is silver-haired, so the black-and-white format was an odd choice for this campaign as it slightly dulls the impact of her star-making hair. Griffin just started modeling within the past two years after being discovered by White Hot Hair, a U.K.-based line of hair care products specifically made for silver or white strands. "My children had recently flown the nest, and I was looking for new opportunities. Suddenly, I had a new career knocking on my door," Griffin writes on her website. "That was the beginning of a new chapter in my life; life as a mature model. I found an agent and haven’t looked back!"
A number of AARP-eligible (or close to it) women have nabbed beauty and fashion campaigns in recent years, like Joan Didion for Céline's spring 2015 campaign, Cher in Marc Jacobs' fall 2015 ads, and Joni Mitchell being cast for Saint Laurent's fall 2015 imagery. Beauty brands have tried out the older, wizened casting conceit as well: Jane Fonda, Helen Mirren, and Diane Keaton have been L'Oreal brand ambassadors; Charlotte Rampling starred in Nars ads, and Jessica Lange was the face of Marc Jacobs Beauty last year.
But these are "mature" celebrities moonlighting as models, not professional models who happen to have at least half a century on this earth (many are septuagenarians, actually). An older model in a plus-size campaign? Now that's a welcome affront to the fashion industry's infamously ageist, sizeist landscape.