Jan De Villeneuve

How veteran model Jan de Villeneuve still rocks the runway

Jan de Villeneuve still rocks the fashion scene at an age of 72. With her stylish appearance and perfect grey hair she still rocks the catwalk during several fashion weeks.

Cover photo: © aganovic, Instagram

Jan de Villeneuve

While discovered as a teenager, Jan de Villeneuve still kicks ass. Her career goes way back – during the 60ies she was already a big name in the modeling world and now she even proves more than just that beauty isn’t limited to age, she even proves that a great career can just start after retirement.

After walking a show for Simone Rocha, she tells that she thinks it is important to have a diverse group of people on the catwalk, since older women do enjoy fashion too.

Fifty years of modeling

Despite being a veteran model now, she used to be a younger one during the 60ies, when she walked her first show for KENZO. During that time, models either chose to do catwalks of photo shoots. Either one or the other; doing both was very uncommon. Make-up and hairstylists weren’t part of the fashion gang yet, she had to apply her own make-up and do her hair by herself. Therefore, it felt quite strange to be surrounded by an army of make-up and hair artists during her latest shows.

When she got pregnant and during the first years of raising her children, she didn’t take on any modelling jobs and therefore missed the “big money” that other super models of that time earned. She never felt bad about it and thinks it is amazing she gets a second chance.

Style survives decades

How would such a fashion queen describe her own style? She tells she is a very bad hoarder and has a heard time to throw away old stuff. She lives on a budget and never buys very expensive goods, neither fashion not beauty products. Because of her hoarding habits, part of her (70ies) wardrobe is in line with the latest Gucci collections, something she jokes about. Her style is a combination of maximalist items, bright color and cheerful patterns, but yet all suits her age.

@jandevilleneuve

Got inspired by this fashion model? Read our stories about Iris Apfel and Accidental Icon as well and let them teach you life lessons about style.

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