Cannes Film Festival—one of the most glamorous events on the red-carpet calendar—is in full swing, and you better believe the A-listers are posing up a storm in the south of France.
A luminous Sienna Miller made an appearance with her daughter, Marlowe; Selena Gomez swapped diamonds for an affordable ensemble; and supermodel Bella Hadid just sailed into port. But we couldn’t help but notice that the women making the biggest splash are all 50-plus.
Perhaps it’s the confidence that comes with getting older, or maybe it’s just the fact that each and every one of them looks absolutely incredible, but the likes of Demi Moore (61), Naomi Campbell (53), Michelle Yeoh (61), Isabelle Huppert (71), Julianne Moore (63), Salma Hayek (57), Uma Thurman (54) and Jane Fonda (86) have all owned the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.
It’s an exhaustive list of women who, in a different era, would have been subtly sidelined in the industry. Now, they’re the main event, sporting glamorous blow dries, skin that radiates health and enviable outfits to boot.
It’s also worth noting that many of them are embracing some of the lines that naturally settle in as we get older. While in days gone by, women in Hollywood were expected to be preternaturally smooth and wrinkle-free, now there is a growing shift towards embracing the hallmarks of age (including grey hair).
Julianne Moore, for example, has spoken about forgoing injectables in favor of radiofrequency, while Andie MacDowell’s salt and pepper curls are now a joyful Cannes mainstay.
From top to toe, these women look fabulous, and offer a great example to those of us not in the public eye. Representing on the red carpet counts for a lot more than simply promoting a film: seeing stars at all stages of life celebrated for their achievements is a reminder that women don’t—and never did—become any less relevant after a certain age.
This article first appeared on British Vogue.
