Fashion is having a moment, and that moment appears to be championing the blue rinse. Kate Moss, Tavi, Kelly Osbourne, that trendy-wendy girl on the tram this morning; everywhere I turn I see grey, silver, lilac and blue heads on young shoulders: the avant garde is embracing senior chic. In the wider world too, from a too-cool-for-school DJ granny in Paris to Susan Sarandon’s recent foray into ping pong, seniors are setting the cultural agenda.
A new generation of pensioners is refusing to follow the path trodden by the elders of old who retired gently into that good night. In terms of baby boomer marketing, this demographic has been used to force the world to shape itself to their needs through sheer volume of numbers, have redefined the third age as a time of learning, leisure and travel.
Perhaps the blue rinse is only the beginning. I wonder if, as our population ages, we will see society increasingly champion the beauty of experience rather than the attractions of callow youth. Consequently, those brands associated with the cult of youth might find themselves left high and dry, watching the silver surfers ride the waves.
