Age Diversity Takes Over: Older Models Walk The Fashion Runway

The Milan Fashion Week Men came to an end on Monday. The Italian luxury menswear brand, Zegna, held the show to showcase its Spring/Summer 2025 collections on the outskirts of Milan. Alessandro Sartori, the artistic director, ensured that the show’s casting was diverse – and the striking part was the age of the models, as many of them were in their 40s and 50s. Actor Mads Mikkelsen, who closed the show, wore an all-over terracotta brown look. And the maturity, much like fine wine, shows with age, as he looked stunning, confident, and dominating in wide-legged pants, suede moccasins, and carrying two tote bags. Traditionally, the fashion runway has been dominated by models in their teens and early 20s, but over the past few years, there has been a shift. Born in 1965, Mikkelsen is 58 years old. Other models near his age walked the ramp.

Earlier this year, at Balmain’s Paris Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2024 show, creative director Olivier Rousteing presented a collection that paid homage to his childhood home of Bordeaux. “I feel like we often celebrate one kind of beauty in fashion, which is youthful, and I’m worried about that approach,” Mr Rousteing said after his show, as reported by The New York Times. The show included Axelle Doué, 70; Kristina de Coninck, 63; Estelle Levy, 51; and Marie Seguy, 47. In total, 20 out of 57 models were older than 35. “We tend to forget that the future is also held within women that have had a life… For me, that’s what I wanted to show: women that have lived and continue to live their lives, instead of just young girls that have their whole lives in front of them,” said Mr. Rousteing, according to The New York Times.