Fast fashion grows up by collaborating with Iris Apfel

It could take a 100-year-old social media star to help solve the fashion industry’s multibillion-dollar, age-old problem.

Reports show that ignoring older customers could cost clothing manufacturers $20 billion by 2040, so fast-fashion giant H&M is hoping to dent that figure by collaborating with stylish centenarian Iris Apfel on a range of clothing and accessories, available in Australia and online this month.

The assortment of vibrant tiered kaftans, cropped jackets and chunky jewellery in bold hues and clashing prints reflects the personal style of Apfel, a successful US businesswoman who found Insta-fame in her 90s and is featured this weekend in Sunday Life. Apfel’s milestone birthday last August was celebrated with a cover appearance on Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and the announcement of her new clothing venture.

The Iris Apfel x H&M collection is a rare example of brands taking their eyes off teenagers, turning to cashed-up customers with the strength to blow out more than 40 candles on a birthday cake.

“My mum’s in her 70s and still loves clothes,” says Kellie Hush, senior adviser of the Australian Fashion Council and former editor of Harper’s Bazaar Australia. “I just think that designers don’t care. They want to design for girls who look hot in their clothes aged between 18 and 30.”

Australian labels such as Scanlan Theodore, where dresses do not go above a size 12, are barriers to greater age inclusivity, along with details incorporated into many designs.

“All this volume and cutouts in clothing immediately exclude an older woman,” Hush says. “They don’t want backless dresses where you can’t wear a bra or designs where they have to show their shoulders or stomachs.”

Hush commends local label Camilla and Marc, where dresses stop at a size 14, for embracing the mature-model movement and placing 66-year-old Heather Inwood and 56-year-old US supermodel Paulina Porizkova in recent campaigns. This month’s Melbourne Fashion Festival and international ready-to-wear shows also featured older models on the runway.