Welcome to the New Age of Aging
Pretending there's an alternative to aging is getting old.
For 3.5 billion years, life on Earth has been aging. Time keeps marching on, and so do we. Whether we’re humans, trees, horses, or plankton, getting older is a part of existence.
For as long as anyone can remember, women have been told to fight aging. Hide it. Stop it at any cost.
This pressure is so powerful that entire industries have been built around the idea of defying age. Beauty companies thrive on it. Fashion labels have subtly whispered, “You’re welcome… as long as you don’t look over thirty.” And let’s not forget the many brands that have quietly stopped seeing us at all after forty—not you though pharma, you'll always be there when you see a profit in our pain.
But lately, something feels different.
There’s a growing celebration of age, one that connects it to progress. An appreciation that we wouldn’t be who we are without the experiences that only time can bring—the good, the bad, the hilarious, the heartbreaking, the cringeworthy, and the extraordinary. Each of these moments has led us here, shaping our ambition, empathy, resilience, and the wonderfully low tolerance we have now for nonsense that demands we be anything less than fully ourselves.
Women are looking up to older women.
When I posted on LinkedIn about how offering young women and girls role models in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond helps them see aging not as something to fear but as something to embrace, it was one of my most celebrated posts ever. Women are embracing their age with pride, and that sets an example for all generations—an example that says: Don't hide your age. Don’t shrink yourself. Instead, highlight who you are, celebrate what you look like, and own where you are and where you want to go.
At Fancy we did exactly this with our campaign for Hair Biology, a haircare brand designed to meet the changing biological needs of our hair as we age. The women in the ad? Real women who are badass, unapologetic, and thriving. They celebrated themselves and their hair without hesitation—without hiding.
When we surveyed nearly 500 women over 40, 80% said they felt younger, cooler, or sexier than they expected to when they were younger. This tells us one thing: society sold them a lie about growing older. And now, they get to rewrite the narrative. They get to be the role models they never had.
The way we portray aging is up to us.
At Fancy, we always say that as advertisers and marketers, we have a choice. We can reinforce stereotypes, keep repeating what’s been done, or we can use our influence to push culture forward. Not just reflecting what’s out there but projecting a new vision of what’s possible.
Now is the time to honor the beauty and power of aging. To shine a light on life beyond forty. To show that even well beyond middle age, women are still incredible—still full of vitality and ambition.
Fancy is here for it. Are you?
