About Face explores the lives of some of the world's most successful models who have mostly retired from the industry. Greats like Isabella Rossellini, Jerry Hall, Christie Brinkley, Pat Cleveland, and Carmen Dell'Orefice are just a few of the extraordinary women featured in this piece. Filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders creates a series of intimate portraits of these legends as they discuss how things were when they were top models, and also the complex relationship between beauty and aging.
When I watched the film, I began to sympathize with these women. They had come from a golden age of fashion where models were free to express themselves and dazzle us. There were no rules, so they created their own standards. The one rule that actually meant anything was that you couldn't appear to be getting older. Former model China Machado explains it best:
"It isn't that women want to stay young, it's that the whole society makes us want to stay young.
As they aged, some of the models tried to keep up with appearances and use plastic surgery to stay youthful, while others decided to accept what mother nature had in store. These models were pioneers and the fashion industry worshipped them. But mixed in with their confidence and vitality was this insecurity. These models all knew they had a shelf date whether it was for better or worse.
Even now, I am feeling what these models have endured. You get older and the camera stops liking you as much, because it's bias and unforgiving. But the life of a model doesn't have to have an expiration date. There is something quite beautiful about aging gracefully and letting the world see.
Chime in: Who do you think is at fault for our love affair with youth? Is it the fashion industry or ourselves?
