Striking grey-haired grandmother, 60, proves fashion 'has no age limit'

A fashion label has set out to show that fashion is for every generation with its new campaign starring a 60-year-old grandmother-of-two.

French model Yazemeenah Rossi, who has had grey hair since she was 12, was chosen to showcase the JD Williams' SS16 collection in a series of striking images and a video.

The label says it is trying to break the precedent that sees unattainable younger models promote clothes to women over the age of fifty - 'something that the majority of the high street and high end fashion retailers adopt,' it claims.

Yazemeenah credits her youthful appearance to her organic diet and natural beauty regimes – including using an olive oil and sugar scrub once a week and rape seed oil on her hair.

Speaking of the day of the shoot, she said: 'It’s hard to find the right words to express the beautiful energy which flowed on set between us that day! It was quite magical, and I hope that magic will touch the people who will see the pictures.'

In an industry first, JD Williams's campaign with a difference was put together by a whole crew of women aged fifty and above.

The shoot team consisted of Yazemeenah, 60, stylist Caroline Baker, 70, hair and make-up artist Charlie Duffy and photographer Wendy Carrig, both over fifty.

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JD Williams has led the charge for using age appropriate models in its advertisements since relaunching in 2014 with Lorraine Kelly as brand ambassador.

TV presenter Lorraine, 56, has her own collection for the brand, now in its fourth season, and starred in its recent TV campaign.

Others include the retailer's Over 50 Shades of Grey shoot - a Valentine's Day campaign featuring three grey-haired models aged 50 plus in lingerie.

The SS16 collection is available in January from www.jdwilliams.co.uk, priced from £18 for a lace-up blouse to £65 for a suede jacket.

A spokesperson for JD Williams said it was 'taking a stand in an industry obsessed with youth and proving that fashion has no age limit'.

More than half (58 per cent) of women feel that the high street only caters for younger generations and three out of five over fifty feel unrepresented in the media.

American academic Ben Barry carried out research in 2012 with 2,500 women which looked at ethnicity and age when it came to consumers' purchasing behaviour.

He found that they were 175 per cent more likely to buy when models were in their age range, something that is the exception rather than the norm in fashion and beauty advertising.

The over fifties market is one of the most rapidly growing sectors, the 'Grey Pound' is worth a staggering £320billion a year and they account for around 47 per cent of all consumer spending.

Angela Spindler, CEO, N Brown Group, (which owns JD Williams) said: 'Through our Spring Summer 16 look book we wanted to address the lack of women over fifty used in adverts and promotional material. This age group is at the heart of everything JD Williams represents.

'It's about time we saw more over-fifty reference points for this customer. I am delighted with the results.'

Caroline Nokes, MP for the All Parliamentary Group on Body Image comments, 'JD Williams have positioned themselves as leaders in promoting confidence no matter what your age.

'Helping women to feel positive about their body image is a challenge that spans across all ages and JD Williams are pioneering a number of great methods to show the over fifties that they haven't been forgotten.'

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