Today, I bring your attention to Fordham University professor Lyn Slater. For any of our fashion-industry savvy readers, Lyn maybe a name you’ve heard of, but for many of you this maybe the first time you have come across this unexpected fashion icon.
Lyn Slater first entered the public eye during New York Fashion week in 2014. Lyn, wearing a Yohji Yamamoto suit and carrying a Channel purse, was meeting a friend for lunch outside the Lincoln Center in New York when she was suddenly surrounded by a cohort of foreign journalists and spectators who mistook her for a fashion icon. As surprising as it must have been for Lyn to be photographed by the same journalists who capture the new looks and trends of the fashion world, what is not surprising ,however, is the reason why they did. Lyn is a fashion forward, original dresser who choses clothes that allow her to express herself and her age in a hip and modern way. Lyn embodies the idea of women who, as she says live “interesting, but ordinary lives” and challenges women to engage and talk about fashion rather than simply consume it.
In the past few years the fashion industry has embraced and accepted age as a thing of beauty and concentrated many campaigns on showcasing fashion worn by older generations. In 2015 Joni Mitchell was the face of Yves St Laurent’s spring ad campaign and Dolce & Gabbana featured a quartet of Italian Grandmothers in their 2015 brand campaign. A more recent example is Maye Musk; the 69- year old of mother of business magnate Elon Musk recently signed a modeling contract with IMG.
Lyn’s passion for fashion and undeniable style should be an example to everyone on how to embrace style into older age and how fashionable style does not have an expiry date. Check out Lyn’s blog “The Accidental Icon” here.
Chestnut Street has our own product that we think could release your inner fashion icon. Our exclusive adaptable cape can be worn in many different ways, whether seated or standing and comes in either French Blue or Black. Click here to buy it now!
Zoe Gibney
