Periodically, we’ve reported that older models have begun to take their place on the runways and in magazines, where women’s fashions are on display. Recognizing the economic power of older women, and the inadequate visibility of stylish older women who defy ageist stereotypes, progress seems to have been made in diversity efforts (by age) in the fashion world. However, there are signs that the hard-won progress has been mixed at best, and this year’s September issue of Vogue (always the biggest issue of the year) may set us back even further.

With Vogue’s just-released cover photo featuring 4 models now in their 50s, you would think that the march of progress continues. Instead, the photo is of 4 “Super Models” (Christy Burns, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford) who, at the peak of their careers in the ‘90s, were all featured on a Vogue cover as well. This 2023 recreation of that original cover would have been an ideal opportunity to demonstrate that beauty and aging can go hand in hand and that 30 years later, these women should still be celebrated even if they aren’t the young gorgeous women they once were. While admittedly each of these four women is still exquisite, they are hardly the air-brushed perfect images that Vogue has put on the cover. As New York Times fashion writer Vanessa Friedman writes, it looks like “the years have been smoothed from their faces.” The photoshoot for this September edition is intended to accompany and preview a documentary of these “Supers Models” that will air in September on Apple TV+. So, while we can be entertained by the nostalgia of reliving the glamorous lives of models from the ‘90s, we can hardly celebrate the fact that in 2023, Vogue is unwilling to elevate beautiful older women whose faces honestly portray the lives they’ve lived.

But all is not lost. In a true attempt to diversify its imagery, the clothing store Zara recently revealed that the model to showcase its new advertising campaign is 67-year-old Spanish actress Ángela Molina, whose silver hair and lined face are gorgeous. In fact, to accompany this new campaign, the Spanish government’s Ministry of Health is running its own campaign, to highlight the detrimental impact of ageism in society. So that is something to celebrate. And to keep the celebration going, click here to read about the new-found career of another Spanish woman, Pino Montesdeoca, who at age 60, with her natural hair and face front and center, has begun her own modeling career. She doesn’t apologize for how she looks or what she does, and frankly, there’s no need to. She’s a beautiful older woman, something we should all be celebrating.