Age & Fashion: An Ongoing Issue in South Asia
By: Vinootna Kakarla
Fashion: a booming universe and a calling for all individuals regardless of race, gender, size, and sexual orientation.
It showcases unique opulence and beauty. However, as every rose has its thorn, fashion still harbors countless thorns regarding ageism and discrimination. Vera Wang explains in her interview On Ageism in the Fashion Industry-100 Women BBC World Service about she has noticed how fashion is not generally catered to the average 40+ year-old. However, Western fashion isn’t the only place where ageism has occurred; it has plagued South Asian fashion for eras and continues to do so in the present day. For decades, South Asia has been controlled and oppressed by generational colonialism and conservative values that are quick to outcast those who have become old and frail. These beliefs have leaked into the South Asian fashion industry as we see today. Fortunately, visionaries have disproved these norms in our new era.
Take, for example, Dinesh Mohan: a 61-year-old fashion model who rose from depression, severe eating disorders, and diabetes to now becoming one of the world’s most renowned models. However, he himself deals with judgment in the fashion industry. In Brut India’s video feature about his life, he mentions how he experiences discrimination due to having grey hair and wearings clothes that don’t fit in with societal norms for elderly individuals. Despite the negativity that Dinesh Mohan and others face, their resilience continues to stay powerful in the industry.
In Harper’s Bazaar India’s newest edition, Deepshika Khanna, one of the world’s most prominent designers, mentions how “Urban women, today, make their own rules and I think they’ve enjoyed every phase of their life enough to move into their mid-40s gracefully, without feeling the need to dress like they’re teenagers..” These bold and mature women prove that women of all ages can gracefully express themselves without having the younger and thinner complexion that is dreamed about in pop culture.
Fashion in the new age is defined by how people live.
People should not have to dress “for their age” in any way and should choose how they want to present themselves. The false idea that age is “bad” or “unwanted” has trickled into the fashion industry for centuries, making sure to prohibit worthy elderly models and stylists from bringing a new vision to the field. Ageism is getting old. The fashion industry has ways to go in addressing the conundrum of “age is just a number”. The matureness that seniors display in their styles show the raw and real looks needed in the fashion industry. Until ageism is addressed, fashion can never be an equal platform of expression and acceptance for all.
For more fashion takes, check out other articles in our SANYFW blog.