Silver dollar style: Why fashion’s sudden obsession with mature women is more than a trend

“The feeling of vintage was so interesting to me because I could feel the way you’d walk a different way in certain clothes—it was so telling in vintage films that the way the attitude of their bodies was so connected to the clothes they were wearing,” she says.

“Then I started to think about how my clothes will be the vintage of the future, so I made these jersey dresses that can be worn in different ways, and they did last into the future; I’m still making some of them now. It’s easy care, you can wash it, pack it, it doesn’t wrinkle and you can really play around with all kinds of necklines and styles with it. I think multipurpose, functional clothes will be a peek into the future.”

In 2023, Kamali, ever the tech pioneer in fashion—she was one of the first to set up a website and go into e-commerce on eBay—completed a generative AI course online from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has since built a proprietary program that has access to her life’s work and can be used to generate designs, for now and long after she’s gone.

“It’s exciting—I look at the clothes [it generates] and it looks like I definitely would have done it, even if I may never do it myself.”

And at 80, Kamali is more in demand than ever—The New York Times recently published her guide on personal style, while British Vogue asked her to share her “Lessons in Life”. But as “longevity” and “the silver dollar” continue to be buzzwords of 2026, Kamali is far from the only would-be silver-haired sartorial siren stepping into the spotlight.

The shift is visible across the entire industry landscape:

• Vogue’s May Cover: The issue featured Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour on the cover, lensed by Annie Leibovitz—all titans of their respective industries, all 76 years old.
• Runway Representation: While it was one of the least diverse seasons on the fashion week runways across the capitals in terms of ethnicity and size, it was one of the most notable when it comes to age. Chanel, Bottega and Louis Vuitton were just some of the luxury designers to put not one, but several models over the age of 50 on the runway.
• The Tagwalk Data: According to Tagwalk, a fashion search engine, 100 per cent of the top 20 brands included a generational model on their runway—and these women are not afraid to look their age.
• Billboard Presence: In recent seasons, brands have started to put mature women on their billboards—think Maggie Smith for Loewe in 2023, or beauty brand Refy’s “Iconic Never Gets Old” campaign.
  
  

Hong Kong-born model Suzi de Givenchy says, “For about six months now, I have decided to let my greys grow out. Initially, I was worried about clients’ reactions, but I only received support and even encouragement.” In March, the 60-year-old walked and attended shows for brands like Mugler and Schiaparelli for the autumn-winter 2026 collections.

So why the sudden fascination with age, and how do these women actually feel about this wave of attention?

“I was not struck by the age of the women but by the timing,” says Sujata Assomull, an internationally renowned fashion journalist who proudly champions “midlifing” women. She laments the fact that most of the conversation around the recent Vogue cover focuses on their ages, a point that only serves to highlight how rare it is to see women of a certain age celebrated, regardless of their personal achievements.

“Right now, as the industry navigates challenging business conditions, there’s renewed focus on older women because they are the ones with spending power; that creates the illusion of progress,” she says.

In a time when economic growth is stalling and brands are prioritising the bottom line, many are pivoting to courting those with real purchasing power, aka the “silver dollar”. This also happens to coincide with an era of unprecedented economic independence for women. The turn to generational faces might be riding a wave of social goodwill, but it is also grounded in revenue-driving decisions, catering to women over the age of 50 who have deeper pockets and more discerning tastes.

“There is a misconception that with age comes a desire to fade into the background—I see the opposite,” says Renia Jaz, the 60-year-old content creator behind the Instagram account @Venswifestyle, who inspires her 515,000 followers with vibrant daily outfits. “Women over 60 are curious, confident, and open to experimenting—and importantly, they have both the desire and the means to invest in themselves, including in high-quality and designer fashion.”

Young consumers, no longer being able to afford the same luxuries as their parents did at the same age, are turning to second-hand to buy into brands. So while having aspirational Gen Z influencers pose in a luxury handbag might earn a brand clout, ultimately it’s their grandmothers who have the ability to actually purchase the bag.

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As is now frequently the case, social media has been the petri dish in which many social movements and trends have spawned. In the last year, mature faces in fashion—like former supermodel Paulina Porizkova, now 61—have been making headlines for fostering honest conversations on Instagram around ageing, offering unfiltered truths about the process, celebrating their laugh lines and silver manes.

Of course, there is still a way to go for true inclusivity; all the women interviewed for this piece bemoan how the internet only celebrates a very aspirational, polished version of ageing, one largely devoid of ethnic and size diversity.

“I don’t think it’s a real change yet. It still feels reactive,” says Assomull. “Mature women are a significant part of the industry, culturally and economically, yet they are still brought into focus only when it feels convenient."

But it’s moving in the right direction. When Jaz created her Instagram series “I am 60 years old and this is how I style this trend”, the response was overwhelmingly encouraging.

“What was particularly interesting was seeing other creators adopt a similar format and openly reference their age, which I found to be such a compliment,” she says. “I think age allows you to edit fashion through your own lens, to take what resonates and leave what doesn’t.”

This self-assurance is what draws many Gen Z audiences to Jaz and similar generational figures; younger people tend to become mired in trends, and are desperate for guidance on finding their personal styles.

“I think mature women bring something very special to fashion: perspective,” says Jaz. “With time comes a deeper understanding of personal style, a stronger sense of self, and the confidence to wear something because it feels right, not just because it’s trending. There is less need for validation and more freedom in expression, which makes the way we approach fashion more authentic.”

De Givenchy was at first surprised to see the age range of her loyal fans. “The top group is between [aged] 35 and 44 while the second group is between 25 and 34,” she says. “Upon reflection, I understand, as growing up I was looking for mentors and role models; even now, I am inspired by women like Jane Fonda and Michelle Yeoh.”

Indeed, Gen Z are looking backwards to adorn their future wardrobes (as the seemingly clairvoyant Kamali seemed to predict from the start of her career). From “Grannycore”—which, for the uninitiated, means a cosy aesthetic and lifestyle involving chunky knitwear, curtain prints, vintage cardigans and eclectic homeware—came a sudden surge in search volume on eBay and Pinterest for vintage brooches as young adults mined preloved platforms for antique ornamentation.

“We’ve definitely seen a renewed interest in pieces that feel like they carry history; brooches are a good example of that shift,” says Alexia Karides, who co-founded London-based cult jewellery label YSSO with her mother Stalo. “It reflects a longing for permanence and familiarity; in a fast-moving, highly digital world, there is comfort in aesthetics that feel slower, more tactile, more personal.”

The dialogue and healthy “tension” between their generational perspectives have been integral to the success of the brand, Karides says.

“My mother brings decades of hands-on experience in jewellery making, an intuitive understanding of form, wearability and craft, while I come from a more conceptual and strategic perspective, shaped by my background in mathematics and law, but also by a sensitivity to image, branding and storytelling. That tension is important—it ensures that what we create feels both considered and alive.”

When asked how she wishes she and other women her age are perceived in fashion, Kamali comes back to the topic of spirit. “When I think about how old my spirit is, immediately an age comes to mind and it’s 27,” she says.

“My spirit feels adventurous and thinks about optimism and the future. It’s not ever thinking about age,” she says. “So I dress the way my spirit wants to dress. I hope the industry will cater to that mentality. It doesn’t mean as women we want to be younger—we want our experiences and our intellect; but we want the freedom to live with our spirit and not feel burdened by age.”

Kamali’s tireless drive and astute perspective, informed by decades of experience, is precisely what we crave in this particularly chaotic era, and perhaps the real reason why we’re finding solace in women who possess a knowledge and wisdom that can only come from existing for longer than we have. While we can never really know what the future holds, these faces might be the closest thing we have to a crystal ball; and if the future looks anything like these women bearing the torch, we have a lot to look forward to.

“Fifty-plus has been so much better than the first half of my life, which I thought was pretty fabulous,” Kamali says. “I met my soulmate when I was 65 and I got married two years ago. Who knew?”

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