The Golden Age
In the age of Pinterest,Instagram and teenage bloggers,a few seniors are making wonderful news
The most disdainful part of technology is that it makes many 30-somethings like me feel old. Only a few months ago,at the restrooms of the Lakme Fashion Week,a bunch of young girls and I made introductions. They seemed younger,but were all “media” and when asked,they chorused they were “in fashion”.
They were bloggers,as they announced names of their respective websites,making me feel even more disconnected. I’m not sure when and how or even why unpublished writers became such a phenomenon,but it is now well-known that celebrated bloggers occupy front-row seats at Paris Fashion Week and are photographed with Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs. They clearly are influential and commercially savvy,as many have PR managers and agents. With Pinterest and Instagram on their smartphones,these quasi-greenhorns seem ready to take on the mantle of tastemakers.
Clearly,it’s the age of the young. But one of the weirdest news I read this week is Katie Holmes throwing out baby Suri Cruise’s lipstick to give her a “normal childhood”. The six-year-old has often been photographed with red lips,as has Vivienne Jolie-Pitt,but you’re forgiven for thinking (like me) it’s the cold New York weather that’s given them a ruby pucker.
But along come a few reminders telling you that having age and experience on your side has many wins. Tarun Tahiliani,who turned 50 last week (I’m still not forgiving him for having a giant book out this year chronicling his successes),celebrates with yet another edition of his gobsmacking gorgeous couture exposition. Anyone who has been to one of these can smell the goodness and purity of luxury in the air. The real celebration was a private,friends-only party-to-end-all-parties at his neighbour and best friend Sunny Labroo’s tasteful home. The dance floor had a hanging rainforest executed by Ferns N Petals,a white behemoth of a peacock preened on the bar,the staff was liveried,the food eclectic,and guests were welcomed with a glass of champagne and a Venetian mask. (Did I mention they were ferried to and from their cars in posh golf carts?)
Wendell Rodricks,also over 50,has finally unleashed the closet writer in him. (His first published article was for this newspaper less than a decade ago.) This year sees him publish two books. This firstwas Moda Goa,a January release and a chronicler of Goa’s costume history. The second,The Green Room ,is a juicy behind-the-seams peek into the Indian fashion industry — names,warts and all.
I’ve just finished reading Lucia van der Post’s engaging Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance. It is an old release but just been reprinted,and I am such a big fan of this grand dame of style and founding editor of the high-end luxury weekly How To Spend It. The book is a compendium of personal advice on style,entertaining,living,love and marriage.
Especially exciting is 30-year-old photographer journalist Ari Seth Cohen’s new book and upcoming documentary Advanced Style,on fashionable women in New York between 60 and 100 years. More than any other industry,fashion revolves mainly around the young. But Seth Cohen celebrates taking pride in growing older. In an interview to a magazine,he states: “They aren’t worried about dressing for a man,woman or a job — they are dressing for themselves.”
After all,aren’t many of us in fashion because our mothers and grandmothers inspired us in some way or the other. namratanow@gmail.com
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