Picture yourself standing in your local store. You're looking at the shelves where the magazines are at. The fashion magazines are, of course, the ones that get your attention. You're looking at all the well known fashion magazines such as Costume, W, and last but not least Vogue. By looking at the colorful cover pages it's clear: The covers consist conspicuously of white, skinny, and smiling models. By taking a closer look none of them looks a day above the age of twenty-five. It's no secret nor a surprise that there is a lack of a lot in the fashion industry, and in this case, the focus is on the lack of age representation also known as ageism.
Fashion decides, and more or less dictates, who is included and who is excluded. By contributing to ageism women over the age of twenty-five gradually get represented less and less, which in the fashion industry means that they are about to be excluded. By excluding elder women the industry decides that they are neither fashionable nor worthy no more.
In the fashion industry where profit is crucial, how come that the most affluent consumers are excluded? The answer is the industry’s fear of mortality. By fearing, and by promoting fear, they are able to make a profit on anti-aging beauty products, but they miss out on the opportunity to make millions on clothes by including their elder customers and make them feel appreciated.
It´s clear: Ageism is a superficial, social, and profitable problem.
By representing elder women in the mainstream media and normalize aging in the fashion industry, the chances are that the elder customers spend their money more on fashion forwards. Another advantage is the social aspect and the fact that younger women won´t fear aging, and are able to appreciate themselves through the years, the grey hair, the fine lines, and the wrinkles.