It’s not something that’s acknowledged very often in the mainstream media, but we are growing older as a society. The current generation will be the longest-lived generation in history.

That means that for many people, life will continue far beyond where people would once have retired, and those people will expect to continue living full, healthy lives.

In turn, this should lead to a new portrayal of older men and particularly older women in the media. It’s just possible that 60 is, in fact, the new 30, and it’s time for this to be reflected in the world we see.

Take this gorgeous 61-year-old model, for instance …

12. Meet Yazmeenah

Yazmeenah Rossi has lived an interesting life. She is an American and has worked for much of her life as a model and as an artist. However, she was born in France and was raised on Corsica, which is an island in the Mediterranean. Currently, she lives in Malibu, California.

11. A Striking Woman

Yazmeenah looks pretty good for a woman who is over 60, doesn’t she? She recently celebrated her 61st birthday and has no plans to retire from modeling anytime soon. She thinks that there’s no need to stop as long as she’s alive, and she’s happy to break new ground, too.

10. Not Listening

One area in which Yazmeenah thinks there should be no compromise is how she is presented to the public in her work. She doesn’t want to be a pretend youngster, she wants to be the mature woman that she is. So she’s refused to dye her hair even though agencies have told her to do so.

9. In Her Own Words

“I always thought it was a gift, I thought why dye this. I’m always someone who likes to be simple,” said Yazmeenah when a newspaper asked her why she wasn’t conforming to the expected standards of beauty. Yazmeenah firmly believes that it’s time for women to choose how they are portrayed.

8. She’s Happy

“Every morning I wake up, I have no agenda, I’m happy… It’s a game for me, it’s playing for me,” Yazmeenah said during the same interview. “It’s not about me. My ego was satisfied a long, long time ago.” When you’re content, it’s easier to seek change in the world rather than forcing yourself to change.

7. Slowing Down A Little

Yazmeenah has indicated that while she still has plenty of time and effort to dedicate to her modeling work, she’s not quite as energetic as she once was. She puts this down to having gone through the physical changes associated with menopause. However, she’s still not short of work when she wants it.

6. A Single Photoshoot

It’s perhaps fair to say that Yazmeenah would never have become the celebrity that she recently has without her unusual approach to managing her career. A single photoshoot has changed the way the world looks at Yazmeenah, and may change the future of older women in fashion for good.

5. The Swimsuit Shot

Yazmeenah appeared in a recent swimsuit shoot. Not just any old swimsuit either – it was the kind of swimsuit normally reserved for young women; tight and fitting and leaving very little to the imagination. It was incredibly well received, and the images have gone viral online. That means they have been seen by an unexpectedly large and supportive audience.

4. Land Of Women

The lingerie brand that Yazmeenah represented in the photo shoot was Land of Women, and they had been working in conjunction with an online retailer, The Dreslyn, to create a portfolio of striking images that reflect real women in the real world. Yazmeenah was just what the doctor ordered to help get their message home.

3. Dreslyn Speaks

Dreslyn’s CEO, Brooke Taylor Corcia, said that the company had been aiming to try and shift attitudes towards the way women are viewed. She said that swimwear is all too often hyper-sexualised and that campaigns regularly fail to address the female identity within the suit. She wants people to look again.

2. No Need For Youth

Brooke Taylor Corcia feels that by working with Yazmeenah, the company has reinforced the idea that younger models aren’t needed to promote swimwear. They feel that Yazmeenah has shown that women can look fantastic in swimwear whatever their age may be, and that it’s time this was more widely-recognized.

1. A New Kind Of Body Positivity

“This line is all about being a person who’s well-lived and well-traveled and has intelligence and confidence, and letting that shine through,” said Corcia. It’s why they took Yazmeenah on for the work, they feel that she embodies that confidence and has made it easy to communicate that through imagery.

The world has changed. The population is going to live longer and live better than ever before, and it’s going to take a seismic shift in the way that the media and advertisers represent that to the public at large.

Yazmeenah’s campaign is just the spearhead of this change. She looks amazing in the swimsuit shoot, and has clearly enabled the beginning of a transformation in fashion, but there’s still a long way to go before this is the norm.

Who do you think would make a great mature model for other women’s products and clothes?

Source: Cyber-Breeze