Some of you will have seen this and I hate double-posting on things but I just had to because for a long time now, I've wanted to simply say that Observer Magazine or Guardian on Saturday always seem to style 50 yrs+ women in the best way possible. So much so that I can't wait to age 50 years and head in that refined yet not overly conservation direction. It seems apt therefore that they have shon a light on Fanny Karst, designer behind the label Old Ladies' Rebellion not once but twice (caught the G2 piece today). It's the sort of story that makes one chortle at first and then makes total sense when you see the clothes. 24-year old Fanny is a French-born CSM grad who also happens to be Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's niece and is now based in the basement of JCDC's Savile Row store. Not exactly the expected foundations to go into clothes specifically made for the 50+. Read up on the details of the show that had 60-80 yrs models modelling her primarily digital printed silk pieces, all wearing practical flats in the Observer piece. The crux of this for me is not that I'm here to recommend every 50yrs+ to go out there and buy Karst's pieces (out of curiosity, who IS over 50 here??? Anyone?!?) which at £500-600 a dress, isn't for everyone.
The point is that I am all for Observer/Guardian and Karst's attitude towards how the 'elderly' dress. When all is said and done there isn't REALLY anything stopping you from wearing whatever style you want to wear, regardless of age. However, I feel like Karst has observed the conventional reservations that women of a certain age have (the forgiving shapes and the subdued palette) and taken them into account but has injected something unexpected too (rompe l'oeil hands, slogans and embellished epaulettes). It's the happiest of compromises and might pave the way for more designers like Karst to come forth. An evolution of so-called 'grandma' style perhaps...
From the 2008 collection:
