The Rise of the Over-50 Fashion Mentors (Published 2022)

Trend brain, as I call it, encourages us to simplify everything online into something either buyable, understandable, or moral (and therefore worthy of consumption). We may tire of trend talk, but there is a devout certainty to the speed at which they’re cycled through. There are more choices than ever today, but seemingly less authority as to what... See more

Beyond simply copying her outfit, which isn’t the point, it speaks to a broader shift in consumer behavior: We want to hear from people, not corporations.

Some people say 30 is the new 20. But, if you’re the business of selling clothes to dudes, you’re likely thinking that 50, 60, or even 70 is the new 20 given the spate of famous elderly pitchmen being tapped to rep luxury clothing brands and streetwear labels.⁠

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Boomers and Gen-X-ers, clad in their comfy walking shoes, quietly strode to the forefron... See more

So the fevered search for the next ever-more-niche revival could be seen as a way for Gen Z to carve out a IYKYK (“if you know, you know”) point of difference and ring-fence a specific look, community or interest. For a limited time, anyway.

It used to be that time and distance were allowed before present culture plundered, to use Savage’s term, a past decade for style inspiration. Received wisdom put it at around 30 years, enough time for a new generation, and fresh eyes, to reassess.