Rise of the midlife model

In his ripped jeans, ganji, grey hair and smartly groomed beard, it is difficult to place Nitin Mehta. Biker? Retired army man? You’re not far off the mark with the second guess but after taking voluntary retirement from the army, the 47-year-old has found a flourishing second career — as a fashion model.
He remembers the first time he stepped inside a green room in 2017.“People thought I was a designer or a stylist. Nobody imagined that I was a model about to walk for Rajesh Pratap Singh at the Amazon India Fashion Week,” Mehta recalls.
Mehta is the face of Reid & Taylor, has featured in commercials for Tanishq and PVR and landed roles in two Tamil films. “Young people walk up to me and say that I am their role model. It gives me a kick.”
Indian fashion is finally embracing age inclusivity with labels putting their money, and clothes, on models who are well-past their prime. On the ramp, 30 used to be considered over the hill for female models, with even campaigns for anti-ageing creams going to models in their twenties.
But fashion is no longer just a young person’s game. Take a look at Daljit Sean Singh, 49, with his flowy grey beard, grey hair, ripped abs and tattoos to know why. Dressed in formal ethnic wear with kohl-rimmed eyes he can pass for a dapper rajwada. Put him in western formals with his hair tied back, he looks like a hippie-turned-academic. The lines on the face only add to his look. “One can be a model at any age. You model an expression or a product,” says Singh, whose modelling career started at age 46. He has since walked the ramp for J J Valaya, Ashish Soni, Shantanu & Nikhil, Anju Modi, Kunal Rawal, and acted in Padmaavat.

Daljit Sean Singh, 49, began modelling just three years ago. Has walked for Ashish Soni, JJ Valaya and acted in Padmaavat
In the West too, fashion has been embracing more diversity in terms of colour, curves — and wrinkles. Daphne Self, a 91-year-old model with grandkids who are in their twenties, is just one representative of the greynaissance sweeping the fashion industry. The club includes Lauren Hutton (75), Iman (64). Tesla founder and billionaire Elon Musk’s mother Maye made it to a 2017 Vogue cover, a year shy of 70.
Fashion editor Sujata Assomull says the last few years have been all about the millennials. “I think by going so “millennial” many of the beauty and fashion brands had alienated the older women. And let’s face it, many of these women have the real spending power, especially when it comes to the luxury end of the market.”
To illustrate the shift towards older models, she reels off examples. “Satya Paul just featured Malaika Arora in their campaign. Twinkle Khanna has done campaigns for a jewellery brand along with her husband Akshay. Actresses such as Kajol and Madhuri Dixit Nene appear in adverts for FMCG products.”
Sixty-year-old Dinesh Mohan has featured on Vogue India’s Instagram and in one of its digital campaigns. “I am very age-proud. I never dye my hair. But it hurts when some people pass mean comments in public places like ‘Iss buddhe ko dekh!’” says Mohan who has walked the ramp at various fashion weeks, acted in Salman-starrer Bharat and will be appearing in an Anurag Kashyap production later in the year.
Sixty-year-old Dinesh Mohan has featured on Vogue India’s Instagram
Fifty is the new thirty may be a cliché but it’s also true, says fashion choreographer Aparna Bedi Bahl. With older people taking care of their skin and fitness, even smaller brands are snapping them up even though they may not be professional models.
Kolkata-based indie label 145 East has used social activist Nimisha Sengupta (53), and Calcutta Cricket and Football Club president Subrata Das (69) to showcase their wacky interpretations of the gamcha (a thin checked towel used in Bengal). “Despite having a young vision and energy, we work with older models because we feel that fashion is for all, irrespective of one’s age group, gender, or body type,” says Rishab Badoni, its founder.
A sustainable fashion label, Khara Kapas, asks mature women to don their earthy cotton creations because “they are the only ones who understand sustainability,” says Selina Shergill, its brand manager.
“They look so comfortable in the photos. And this level of comfort only comes with age,” she adds.