'We're back in the 90s': Older female models struggle to work as brands play it safe after Covid

Shortly before Covid hit, 66-year-old model Alex Bruni had an interesting day being photographed by Rankin, the British photographer who has worked with Kate Moss, Madonna, David Bowie and the late Queen.

Rankin put Bruni in a bath and asked her to fake an orgasm. She was delighted. "It was an advertisement for Coco de Mer sex toys," she recalled. "I thought that was great: the idea of ​​being able to give sex toys to older women as gifts, because we're still playful sex beings."

Bruni has been in constant modeling demand since she was scouted in 2013. She has modeled for Vogue Italia, Julien Macdonald, IA London, GQ China and Starling Bank, as well as catwalks.

But that was before the pandemic. Since the world came out of lockdowns about 18 months ago, Bruni's modeling career has come to a halt.

"Until 2017 was great : brands were really focused on older women aging beautifully and embracing life," she said. "But since Covid it's been disastrous. I've only had a few jobs and these have either been paid half of what they were before the lockdown, or not paid at all: I felt I had to do them for the sake of being exposed."

Bruni attributes this to brands becoming more conservative after Covid. “The pandemic has been a scary time and everything about aging gracefully has fallen by the wayside,” she said. "If you have former role models now, they are portrayed as eccentric - which is just another ageist stereotype."

Bruni is frustrated. "I thought older female role models had finally been recognized as equals and it was here to stay," she said. "But I really feel like it's gone."

Rebecca Valentine, founder of Gray Model Agency, agrees. A few years after the launch of the only British agency dedicated to models over 35 in 2015, its collaborators were sought after by international brands such as Gucci, Prada and Emirates, as well as British labels such as M&S.

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Like Bruni, she believed he would run and run. "Our models were used for everything from high-end luxury to rock and roll fashion, from high street to sports brands," she said.

"I was sure it wasn't a fad because older people were getting bigger and had more and more money. I never thought it would go back to the 90s when the only female models in demand by brands were young, skinny and tall. But in the last 18 months, that's exactly where we've come to."

Simon Chambers, the owner of Storm Model Management, also noticed that bookings for older female models not already known have "dropped" since the pandemic.

"It's hard to know why," he said.