50 Shades of Silver

Time of India

04-05-2025

As someone who decided to stop colouring her hair at 37, I have first-hand experience of how greys translate to 'past your sell-by date'. People offer me the senior citizen seat in the metro; on Instagram, I am shilled for pain balms, joint supplements and even adult diapers.
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In 2023, on X, a man declared that Emilia Clarke 'hit the wall' because she had crow's feet. A September 2024 Business of Fashion article said that antiageing is making a comeback, being fuelled by younger shoppers, especially Gen Z and its fanatical obsession with preventive skincare.
At the same time, however, older women are also reclaiming space — at least socially — talking about age, wrinkles, menopause, greys and what have you.
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There's mythologist and storyteller Seema Anand asking women to take their pleasure in their own hands. Actor-model Lisa Ray and journalist Sujata Assomull have collaborated to talk to women in their 40s and 50s. Zeenat Aman is being just her spectacular septuagenarian self on Instagram. And Neena Gupta is sharing heartfelt video notes titled 'Sach Kahun Toh'.
Jacynth Bassett, the founder of Ageism Is Never In Style, a global consultancy, campaign and community around
age inclusivity
, notes that the
pro-age movement
is undeniably having a powerful cultural moment. 'At its core, the pro-age movement is the antithesis to anti-age — it is rejecting the negative, ageist norms and narratives that present ageing as something to be fearful of and reject,' she said.
Bassett is hopeful that brands will mirror the change. 'Older consumers increasingly have more disposable income, and studies are supporting the demand for change around age narratives. A study by Avon found that 40% of women aged 55 don't consider fine lines and wrinkles their biggest skin insecurity, and 72% of women want to look 'healthy' rather than 'young',' she added .
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
In these changing times, however, brand strategist Harish Bijoor has a warning for brands. 'Age inclusiveness is today's language, but you need to play it carefully, lest you are painted as that 'moment marketing' freak who picks up the current language and wants to dominate it in a hollow manner of speaking,' he said.
Bassett adds that 'pro-age' has also been co-opted by some people just to replace 'antiageing'. She herself prefers the terms 'age inclusive' or 'age positive'.
In a 2023 Buzzfeed article on 'granfluencers', Susan Douglas, a feminist cultural critic and professor at the University of Michigan, US, noted that the uptick of older women in the spotlight is because there are more
women over 50
now than at any time in history.
'This is the same generation of women who pushed forward the women's movement and who said no to all kinds of constraints against education and employment and other opportunities. Now that we're getting older, we are determined to push back against outdated stereotypes,' she added.
'During the pandemic, I decided to stop colouring my hair. I feel we are weighed down by a lot of societal norms and expectations to 'look a certain way'. Many shy away from going grey because it's directly equated to age. But things are changing. Social media has pushed us towards being a little bit more authentic.'
—RESHMA BOMBAYWALA-LEZINSKA
, 50, Content creator and model.
'One of the gifts of ageing is feeling confident and grounded enough in yourself to speak from an authentic point of view. I want to rebrand the 50s. Because I, for one, never felt quite as powerful and content as I am today. I wish my mother had prepped me for menopause and spoken to me about it.'
— LISA RAY
, 53, actor and model.
Lisa Ray
'It's like women are told to become less visible as they age. Everything from beauty to fashion and lifestyle to even social media is geared towards the younger age groups. There's a wonderful opportunity, but brands are tone-deaf. In my space, there's a movement towards sex positivity, breaking taboos and dispelling stigma around pleasure.'
—SEEMA ANAND
, 63, storyteller and mythologist, author of The Art of Seduction.
Seema Anand
'I see younger brands, designers and startups being far more enthusiastic about age inclusivity. There's a growing demand for senior models. And why not? The consumers look like us. They want to see people like them wearing what they want to buy.'
—APARNAA VERMA
, LATE 40s, dentist-turned model.
'I was struggling with my innate fears of ageing and decided to face them head on with joy. Brands need to stop stereotyping women based on their age. Any brand that supports ageing with the attitude of embracing something that is beautiful and natural is going to resonate with the audience.'
—MUKTA SINGH
, 60 , artist and model.
'I think I've taken to ageing quite naturally. But ageism is, of course, still deeply ingrained. Some of us still have very deep-rooted anti-ageing ideals. 'Oh, she can't do this', 'How is she out on the beach?', 'What a short skirt she's wearing', 'Look what she's putting on her face', etc. When I started, I used to get trolled. But I learnt from my daughter-in-law to not engage.'
—MANJRI VARDE
, 69, artist, aka her Instagram persona 'Sassy Saasu'.
Manjri Varde
'All over the world, as women age, there is the feeling that once they are done bringing up children, their role is to slink into the background. It's worse for South Asian women. I think some of us GenXers feel that we need to speak about it, so that the generations after us don't have to go through what we went through.'
—SUJATA ASSOMULL
, 50, journalist, writer and content creator.
Sujata Assomull
Age and Other Numbers
1.
People aged 50 and above represented 38% of the total global spend in 2024 and will drive 48% of global spending growth. Even in India with a relatively smaller older population, those aged over 50 will drive 30% of 2025 spending growth. (McKinsey)
2.
The Silver Generation has a greater share of total fashion spend than younger shoppers, with those aged 59 and over representing 37% of retail apparel spend in the US, compared to 23% by millennials. (McKinsey)
3.
48% of Gen X-ers have made purchases directly through social media platforms. The proportion of Gen X using social media for product discovery has grown 12% since the end of 2022, while the number of those who use it to see what's trending has grown by 10%. (Havas Media, Vogue Business)
4.
Mature consumers in 12 big markets — Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, UK and the US — will number almost 1.1 billion by 2050. (BCG).
Mind Tricks
Being satisfied with your own ageing can make you adopt healthier behaviours, put you in control of how you age and even heighten your immune system. In 2001, researchers from Yale and Harvard looked at 660 participants between the ages of 50 and 80 and found that those who held a more positive attitude about their own ageing — such as continuing to feel useful and happy — lived, on average, 7.5 years longer.