If you thought that 40 was the new 30, think again. Rolling out in cinemas comes Cannes film festival Palme d’Or winner Amour, a love story about a couple of retired music teachers in their eighties. Last December, 91-year-old style icon Iris Apfel created a make-up collection in conjunction with MAC, and this year Jimmy Choo named a shoe after her. In July, Lanvin used 82-year-old first-time model Jacquie Murdock for their latest campaign. 你若觉得只有40岁的女人才能摇身变成30岁的模样，结论就下得太过仓促了。诸位请看今年戛纳电影节金棕榈奖(Palme d’Or)获奖影片《爱》(Amour)，这是一部发生在两位80多岁的退休音乐老师之间的爱情故事。去年12月，91岁高龄的时尚偶像艾瑞斯•阿普菲尔(Iris Apfel)与化妆品公司MAC合作，推出了一款化妆品系列；今年，Jimmy Choo推出了一款以艾瑞斯•阿普菲尔命名的鞋；今年七月，朗万(Lanvin)在最新的产品推介会上聘用82岁高龄的杰基•默多克(Jacquie Murdock)出任模特，这是杰基•默多克本人首次担任模特。
And that’s just the beginning. Daphne Selfe, 84, posed earlier this year as Madonna, wearing the pop star’s Jean Paul Gaultier conical bra for Oxfam’s Big Bra Hunt campaign. Former Danish model Gitte Lee, 77, featured for Céline. And 81-year-old Carmen Dell’Orefice took part in a recent campaign for Delvaux, the Belgian luxury bag company. 精彩纷呈的好戏还在后头。84岁高龄的达芙妮•塞尔菲(Daphne Selfe)今年初大摆流行歌星麦当娜(Madonna)超酷造型，身穿娜姐的让•保罗•高缇耶(Jean Paul Gaultier)锥形胸罩，为乐施会(Oxfam)组织的大胸罩狩猎活动(Big Bra Hunt campaign)造势；77岁的丹麦前模特吉特•李(Gitte Lee)出任Céline的广告片主角；81岁高龄的卡门•戴尔•奥利菲斯(Carmen Dell’Orefice)则参加了比利时奢侈品手袋公司德尔沃(Delvaux)的最新广告片。
Many of these women also appear in Ari Seth Cohen’s blog, Advanced Style, which focuses on the most stylish “older folk” on the streets of New York. It became the basis of a book, Advanced Style, that was published earlier this year and will be made into a film in 2013. All of which prompts the question: is it possible that these days 80 is the new 20? 这些老年人很多还出现在阿里•赛斯•科恩(Ari Seth Cohen)的博客——Advanced Style中，它是专门拍摄纽约街头老年女性时尚达人的博客，随之成为了《Advanced Style》一书的素材，将于今年初正式出版发行，并将于2013年拍成影片。所有这一切不由得引出一个问题：如今这些80岁的老妇能变成20岁的模样吗？
“I wouldn’t call it a trend but rather a movement towards a greater appreciation of ageing and older people,” says Cohen. The reason why this has been happening can be explained simply: in the US alone there are a reported 78m baby boomers, aged sixtysomething and above, who control 70 per cent of the domestic income. That’s a lot of purchasing power. “本人并不觉得它是一种流行趋势，而是一种潮流——对变老及老人有了更正面的评价，”科恩说。解释这一切发生的原因很简单：据报道，单单美国就有7800万60岁以上、婴儿潮出生的一代老人（指美国1945--1960年间处于高生育率时期出生的人），他们掌控着美国国内收入的70%，具有非同寻常的购买力。
“Attitudes seem to be slowly changing, as blogs such as Advanced Style, The Women’s Room, and That’s Not My Age have highlighted the fact that growing older does not mean women lose interest in fashion and style,” says British trend forecaster Jane Kellock, founder of The Women’s Room. “Hopefully, using older women in ad campaigns is just the beginning of a real awareness of attitudes towards ageing and not just a trend. But I can’t think of any stylish brands that openly state they are targeting older women.” “观念似乎在慢慢变化，Advanced Style、The Women’s Room、以及 That’s Not My Age等博客强调了这样的事实：女性的年龄增长并不意味着她们对时尚失去兴趣，” The Women’s Room博客博主、英国时尚预测师简•凯洛克(Jane Kellock)说。“我真心希望，聘用老年女性拍摄广告片只是对衰老观念真正觉醒的开始，而并非属于流行趋势。但我认为还没有一家时尚品牌公开宣称自己的服务对象就是老年女性。”
Indeed. It’s not necessarily the case that the fashion houses are rebranding their designs for an older demographic, although some designers are finding a niche with an older group. “I’m not sure why brands use older models but I’m sure it’s from an artistic point of view rather than a business strategy,” says Fanny Karst, who launched the niche label The Old Ladies Rebellion four years ago for a decidedly more mature clientele. Her “gang of models” now includes Andrée Putman, a French interior designer who was born in 1925, and Browns founder Joan Burstein. Karst says, “These women are so striking that they wear all things beautifully. 事实的确如此。时尚公司还没有为老年人专门设计品牌，虽说有些设计师发现老年人设计品牌有利可图。“我不知道时尚公司为何聘用老年模特，但我知道这是出于艺术角度考虑，而非出于经营战略，”芬妮•卡斯特(Fanny Karst)说，四年前，她毅然为老年客户创立了小品牌The Old Ladies Rebellion。如今，她的模特阵容包括了安德蕾•普特曼（Andrée Putman，出生于1925年，法国室内装饰师）与布朗百货店创始人琼•伯斯坦(Joan Burstein)这些重量级的人物。卡斯特说，“这些女性容貌出众，穿什么都好看。
“There are not really any other labels that dare admit or concentrate on design for the old crew, and I was discouraged to do so. But these ladies are also starting to know that they are being watched and checked out in the street,” says Karst. “如今没有任何品牌胆敢公开承认或专为老年群体设计产品，过去，别人也不鼓励我这么做。但这些老年女性也开始认识到自己已经成为大街上众目睽睽、评头论足的对象，”卡斯特说。
Lines such as Eileen Fisher, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, St John Knits, Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne have begun to reach out to the older demographic. House of Fraser offers a collection designed in collaboration with Mary Portas specifically aimed at women over 40. Gap also made an attempt to capture this market with Forth and Towne, though the line was closed after two years. 伊林费雪(Eileen Fisher)、陶伯(Talbots)、安泰勒(Ann Taylor)、Chico’s、拉尔夫•劳伦(Ralph Lauren)以及丽诗加邦(Liz Claiborne)等品牌开始涉足老年品牌。House of Fraser与玛丽•波塔斯(Mary Portas)合作，推出了专为40岁以上女士设计的系列。Gap也推出了Forth and Towne系列，试图抢占这个市场，虽然两年后这个品牌黯然退出市场。
“You can’t ignore the baby boomers,” says designer Maria Grachvogel. “They are a strong group of women who have worked up through the ranks to the top of their career ladders. As a female designer I want to dress these women that inspire me as leaders of their fields in all walks of business. Retailers are also very aware of their spending power, and are constantly seeking products that cater for them.” “不能忽视婴儿潮出生的那代人，”设计师玛丽亚•格莱施庆加(Maria Grachvogel)说。“她们是一群女强人，依靠自己的拼搏，成为各行各业的出类拔萃者。作为一名女设计师，我想为这些女强人设计服装，她们作为各行各业的佼佼者，其精神不断地激励着我。零售商们也意识到这些老年人的超强购买力，并不断开发满足其需要的产品。”
Carmen Busquets, founder of CoutureLab.com, agrees: “Retailers like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods and Saks have always been open to this demographic. But it’s not sexy to talk about this.” CoutureLab.com网创始人卡门•布斯克茨(Carmen Busquets)也同意这种说法：“像奈曼•马库斯(Neiman Marcus)、波道夫•古德曼(Bergdorf Goodman)、哈罗德(Harrods)以及萨克斯第五大道(Saks)等零售店一直对老年人服务很到位，但谈论这种事关注度并不高。”
Designer Corrie Nielsen says: “Fashion is, and has historically been, primarily promoted and advertised on young models. Transitioning to a more mature face can create ripples and strong implications for a brand. The challenge is marketing the brand to a wide-ranging audience, especially the advanced set that can afford it, but still keeping it youthful enough to appeal to a media that is youth focused.” 设计师科利•尼尔森(Corrie Nielsen)说：“时尚从古到今主要是靠年轻模特来宣传及推介。转而聘用老年人作宣传会在市场上掀起涟漪，对品牌有强烈的暗示作用。如今面临的挑战是如何把品牌推销给更大范围的消费群体，尤其是那些有相当购买力的老年人，但仍要努力保持青春形象，以引起聚焦年轻消费群体的媒体注意力。”
Grachvogel remarks: “There is a misunderstanding that clothing has to be age specific. I have seen the same piece worn by a twentysomething woman who looks young and cool and a sixtysomething woman who looks elegant and modern.” 格莱施庆加评论道：“服装一定得与特定年龄对号入座，这是一种误解。本人曾亲眼目睹同样一件衣服，20多岁的女士穿后显得既年轻又新潮，而60多岁的老年女性穿上后显得既优雅又时髦。”
As for the latter, however, given their growing numbers, “when these ladies wake up and smell the real coffee of the power that they have in their hands – watch out!” says Busquets. 但如今，得考虑老年女性人数越来越多的现状，“这些老年女士一早醒来、感觉自己手握超凡购买力时——诸位务必要小心为上！”布斯克茨说。
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