1. And who is the latest fashionmodel?
Russell Grenning
The ultra-chic,up-marketandwildlyandextravagantlyexpensiveFrenchdesignerlabel Celinehas
announceditsnewfashionmodel for2015.
Predictably,she isasthinas a rake – like fartoo many modelsnowadaysshe lookslike a
concentrationcampsurvivor.Notsopredictably –indeednotpredictablyatall – she doesn’tlook
like she is12.
Celine’slatestpostergirl isJoanDidionandJoanis80. Yes,80 and she lookseverysingle monthof it.
Betterknownas an acclaimedAmericannovelist,she appearsinCeline’slatestadcampaignina
blackshirt,oversizedgoldpendantandhertrademarklarge dark glassesandthe fashionworldhas
gone crazy for her.Mind you,itdoesn’ttake muchfor the fashionworldtogushoverthe latestso-
calledsuper-model butJoaniscertainlydifferent.
Accordingto Laura Weir,fashioneditorfor “Vogue”magazine, “Designersaresubverting our
expectationswhen itcomes to advertising and they’rerecalibrating the vision of thekind of woman
thatwe aspire to be. Joan is an icon. Sherepresentsa shiftin society that’ssaying it’snot agethat
matters, its style thatcounts.”
Interviewedby TheNewYork Times,Ms Didion– wholivesinNew York – said thatshe hadn’t a clue
aboutthe sensationshe hadcaused andheroff-handcommentssuggestedthatshe reallydidn’t
much care. There was no needatall because Joanhas beenaroundfora verylong time and,inthe
worldof literature,she isalioness.
Askedby The NewYork Times, whose ideaitwasfor herto be Celine’s2015 postergirl,she shrugged
it off witha casual, “I haveno idea. They got in touch with me,” she said.However,she didadmitto
likingthe brandwhichhasa store nearher apartmentadding, “Iamfortunateenough to own a few”
althoughshe declinedtospecifywhatwere the “few”Celinecreationsshe doesown.
Andshe has nevereverbeentoa Celine fashionlaunchalthoughshe dutifullysaidthatshe would
“love” to. Verypossibly,those whorunCelinemightactuallygetaroundtoinvitinghertosomething
thisyearbut you can’thelpbutfeelingJoanwouldn’tdissolveintohysterical tearsif theydidn’t.
Apart fromherwriting,Joanisalreadyfamousforhericonic1968 photographof herpeeringout of
herCorvette Stingray,half-smokedcigarette inhandwhichwasusedasthe coverfor hermemoir,
“Where I Was From”.There wasmore than a hintof defiance inthatpose but,above all,itshoweda
casual elegance.Celine hadalreadypaidhomage tothat picture,recreatingitwithayoungmodel
lastyear.
Perhapsitshouldcome as no surprise thatshe agreedtoappearin a fashionad;afterall she began
hercareer as a journalistat Vogueafterwinninga1956 essaycompetitionwhichhadasitsprize the
Voguejoband,withintwoyears,she became Associate FeaturesEditor.She metherhusbandJohn
GregoryDunne thena journalistwith Timewhile workinginNew York andtheymarriedin1964 and
stayedmarrieduntil hissuddendeathin2003. Theironlychild,a daughter,diedin2005.

2. Her firstbook, “Run,River” was publishedin1963 and she haswrittenfourotherfictional books,
twelve non-fictionbooks,five screenplaysandone play, “TheYear of MagicalThinking” publishedin
2006 and whichstarredVanessaRedgrave whenitwasperformedonBroadway.
She has receivedmanyawardsandhonoursculminatinginthe 2013 National Medal of Artsand
HumanitiespresentedbyPresidentObama whoremarkedatthe time,“I’msurprised shehadn’t
already gotten this award.”
Didion’snewfame reflectsatrendinthe fickle fashionworldwhich,inthe past,hasignoredwomen
over40.
Last October,HelenMirren,69, was namedat UK AmbassadorforL’Oreal andas part of the deal she
insistedthatthe photographsforthe campaignwere notretouched. “I’mnotgorgeous,”she said
(andmillionsof menandwomenwoulddisagree) “Ineverwas,butI wasOKlooking and I’mkeen to
stay thatway.”
In June lastyearshe receivedanawardat the UK GlamourWomen Of The Year, famouslysaying,
“Your 40s are good.Your50s are great.Your 60s arefab.And 70 is f***ing awesome.I’mnotquite
there yet,but almost.”
Joni Mitchell,71, isthe newface forYvesSaintLaurent whichhasfeaturedherinthe designer’s
outfitsstrummingherguitar, Diane Keaton,71,has alsoappearedforL’Oreal,JessicaLange,64, has
beenfeaturedbyMarc Jacobs BeautyandCharlotte Rampling,68,isthe star forNARS’scosmetics.
I’ve suggestedtothe VRCwhichrunsthe Melbourne Cupthat theyinvite backasa fashionjudge for
Fashionsonthe FieldinNovemberthisyear,the legendaryJeanShrimptonwhoasa 22 year oldin
1965 wore a mini-skirtpromptingthe headline, “TheLegsThatStopped A Nation”. Asyet,noreply.
As a 16 yearold then,I was mightilyimpressedandIcan’t evenrememberthe name of the winning
horse.Inthose days I hadrather differentpriorities.