The Age Of Glory

Sexagenarian Ong Bee Yan, whose model counterparts are mostly born in the same decade as her grandchildren, talks about her recent unexpected modelling career and how to be truly fabulous at any age.

- Allysha Ni la.

A captivating silver-haired woman graces our cover this month, exuding chic and confidence in a jet-black Saint Laurent tunic and sunglasses. You can’t miss the parallels with an iconic image shot by Juergen Teller for a Céline campaign in 2015, which featured prolific American writer Joan Didion, who was then almost 80.

Fashion has come a long way since—diversity is far more visible on covers and the runways—but still has a long way to go. At the very least though, we now greet it with open arms. Our cover star Ong Bee Yan, or Yan, as the 65-year-old part-time model, grandmother of two and co-founder of 1degreeC, an artisanal home-grown coffee brewery, prefers to be known, notes the incredible impact of the campaign that helped create this welcoming climate: “It’s amazing and truly inspirational to see her front a campaign at [nearly] 80! It really gives mature women the confidence to get out of their comfort zones and not let age define who they are.”