OVER FIFTY IS INSPIRING!
Alex B is the PERFECT Role Model for Fashion Over Fifty. Today she is 56, and lives in London. She only started modeling in 2005, when she was 45!! How great is that? On top of her modeling, she also held a lecturing post at a University in London. Eventually, her modelling career took off, so she gave up her post at the University!!Isn't it wonderful to know that someone can start a whole new career at 45?
Alex has a great background for modeling. She danced for many years and still, to this day, attends ballet classes at the famous Pineapple Studios in London. What a great way to maintain good posture for all of the modeling jobs, along with maintaining good health. Aside from that she has gorgeous gray hair below her waist. Alex's unique looks are not only great for modeling but they also help her on her own personal mission of defying what we think of as the "Glamorous Granny".
She works with more than one Modeling Agency; two in London, and one in the Midlands. However, she also works freelance, seeking out her own work opportunities. Surprisingly Alex also does nude modeling for visual artists and photographers. Not something you would think a woman of 56 would normally do! (This type of work is not done through an Agency). Today, she currently has a picture of herself on exhibit at the Truman Brewery. It is a conceptual photograph done the by the talented Piotr Karpinski.
As Women Over Fifty, we all know that there needs to be a Voice and a real Movement to overcome the Ageism in our cultures. We are so honored to have Alex as our friend because she is quite adamant and very proactive in advocating for real change. She is a member of the "All Walks Beyond the Catwalk", an initiative started by three amazing women in London, Caryn Franklin, Debra Bourne and Erin O'Connor (who also happens to be a supermodel.) These ladies have organized education and lectures "with influential designers, top industry creatives and fashion students, to challenge the fashion industry's dependence on unachievable and limited body and beauty ideals." In other words, they are calling for racial, age, and size diversity in the imagery of society today!! (This movement has not yet come to the United States, unfortunately. Come on Ladies, this is your wake up call!!)
Nude modeling is one great way that Alex is showing that women over 50 should not be ashamed of their bodies, breaking yet another stereotype!! With her waist-long hair and posing nude, she has shown how our bodies over fifty can be transformed, with artistic collaboration, into real works of Art. This is a woman who is single-handedly helping to change the parameters of beauty. We all owe something to her for her courage and determination, because a path is not paved without a first step!! It also helps that she has a phenomenal figure!!
Alex would love to see more women take up modeling as they grow older because we need as many new and positive images as we can get. However, she cautions that things are changing. Agencies no longer dominate the modeling business due to the digital revolution, and Casting Directors often look for models who are not with an Agency. This means that someone seeking to be a model must be pro-active and get listed on websites like Casting Networks. Her advice to someone starting out is to test, as much as possible, with good photographers. Go to casting calls to be seen, and most of all, make sure you capitalize on your uniqueness. Discover your uniqueness and then determine whether you are more suited for commercial or editorial work. As a final caution, do not pay for your portfolio and don't think that just because you make it to a reputable Agency's books, the work will come pouring in. Keep working it!!
Alex AlexB now has her own Facebook page. She did some pretty racy photos for a lingerie line that so brilliantly asked her to model. I put them on my Facebook page and lost about 15 fans that day.
But it created a great discourse among the readers and it got people to think. After all, we don't ever want to stop thinking, do we?
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