Without invoking any comparisons, age truly seems like one of the last taboos of the lingerie industry. Words like "aspirational" get thrown around with careless abandon, and one of the unstated (but wretchedly obvious) components of that aspiration is to be endlessly 22. Maybe 26. If you're feeling daring.
A week ago, while in New York for lingerie market, I discovered my second gray hair. At least, it's the second one I saw; there's more likely a few somewhere up there. While a few years ago, spotting those first few grays may have made me sad or at least distracted, now I understand how growing older is a privilege.
There is beauty in aging. Not the "growing old gracefully" and "look as young as you can for as long as you can" beauty, but the beauty born of experience, of wisdom, of loving yourself, and of caring less regarding what people think about you.
Lonely Lingerie explores these concepts with their latest campaign, featuring 57 year old model and former punk, Mercy Brewer. While Lonely's campaigns, which often push on the boundaries of what's considered "normal" for lingerie, receive a lot of criticism, Lonely has proved once again that they're in this "changing imagery" thing for the long haul. Their images are consistently raw, real, and refreshing, not couched in faux body positivity mantras or girl power anthems.
Season after season, Lonely feels like lingerie I could wear. More meaningfully, it feels like lingerie I could grow old in. In an industry that's all too happy to discard women once they've reached their first quarter century, this is a message worth keeping...and passing on.
What do you think of Lonely's latest campaign? I'd love to talk about it with you in the comments.
All photos courtesy of Lonely Lingerie. Photographer: Harry Were.
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