Dame Maggie Smith's Loewe campaign proves working in her 80s looks good on her
Dame Maggie Smith’s appearance in Loewe’s new spring 2024 pre-collection campaign has enthralled and delighted fans, who are praising the 88-year-old’s elegant demeanour in photographs shot by the legendary Juergen Teller.
Smith - best known for roles as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise and Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey - appears in three distinctive looks alongside Greta Lee, Josh O’Connor and Dakota Fanning in the campaign.
In one photograph, she smiles coyly while wearing a huge fluffy black-and-brown coat in one photograph, with Loewe’s signature Puzzle bag. In another, she is sitting on a loud patterned sofa, looking stern as she models a black turtleneck under a white dress with a ruffled skirt, with a Paseo bag perched on her knees.
The campaign images were shared by Loewe’s Northern Irish creative director Jonathan Anderson via his social media ahead of their official release this week. They quickly gained attention from fans of Smith’s, including fellow celebrities like Dan J Levy, Chloe Sevigny, Lily James, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Kaia Gerber.
Smith’s appearance in the high-fashion shoot is especially impressive given she is 88, about to turn 89 in December. But the iconic actress, whose career began in 1952 at the age of just 17, shows no sign of slowing down. This year, she appeared in the Irish drama film The Miracle Club with Kathy Bates and Laura Linney, and she is currently working on the film adaptation of A German Life by Christopher Hampton.
Working despite being older than retirement age is a growing phenomenon among ageing populations across the world. In the UK, the state pension age is currently 66 and is due to start rising in 2026. But already, British workers are becoming increasingly likely to work well into their 70s, according to research by Rest Less, an over-50 organisation that advises older workers.
Rest Less published data earlier this year that shows a rise of 61% in the number of people above the age of 70 still in work in 2022, compared to 10 years prior. Among men, there was an increase of 58% of over-70s still working, whilst women saw a more significant rise of 66%.
In 2019, Rest Less’s research found there were more than 53,000 over-80s working in the UK, with 25% of them working full-time. This year, as the organisation found that the number of economically active people above the age of 65 has reached record levels - surpassing 1.5 million for the first time since 1992 - Rest Less expects the trend to continue.
Stuart Lewis, chief executive of Rest Less, said: “The rapid increase in the number of over-65s either in work, or looking for work is a significant long-term trend driven by the UK’s ageing population, recent increases to the state pension age, and a desire to stay active and purposeful in later life.” However, he adds that for some people, working past retirement age is also driven by the cost of living crisis.
But many people may also be inspired to work in their 80s by a growing number of celebrities who are hitting new heights in their careers. Recently, Sir Ian McKellen, 84, told Variety he did not plan to retire any time soon.
“Retire to do what?” he told the publication. “I’ve never been out of work, but I’m aware that any minute now something could happen to me which could prevent me from ever working again. But while the knees hold up and the memory remains intact, why shouldn’t I carry on? I really feel I’m quite good at this acting thing now.”
Other famous British celebrities over the age of 80 who are still thriving include Dame Julie Andrews, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Dame Joan Collins, Sir Patrick Stewart, and Sir Paul McCartney. As Collins once said: “Age is just a number.”
Watch: Dame Joan Collins says it is 'tremendously rude' to ask a woman her age
Read more about ageing:
Vera Wang credits McDonalds for ageless skin, but Dermatologist warns against it (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
'I'm 105 — the secret to a long life is Marmite for breakfast and sherry before bed' (Yahoo Life UK, 3-min read)
Rise of the 'grey gap year': 40% of over 60s planning trip of a lifetime (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
