This Paris Fashion Week, Dame Helen Mirren walked in L’Oréal’s Le Défilé, a catwalk celebration of beauty, fashion, and female empowerment, proving once again that beauty is not defined by age.
Alongside her fellow L’Oréal Paris brand ambassadors backstage, she spoke to Bazaar about the notion of beauty being disproportionately determined by aesthetic alone.
“Try to find joy in your life, wherever you can, and be optimistic as far as is possible,” she says is her personal philosophy. “Because I think this weird thing called ‘beauty’ (which I’m not too sure I altogether agree with that word), has many different forms, and only one form is the outward form of your physicality. There are many other ways of being and feeling beautiful.”
Despite being “terrified” of falling in her dress, it’s important, she says, that people like her are given the opportunity to present diversity on the catwalk - something obviously lacking in the fashion and beauty worlds. “It’s been a long time coming, but finally - hopefully - it’s arrived, or is arriving. I’m so happy that I witnessed that and it’s come in my lifetime.”
The actress explains: “Everybody’s entitled to look the best they can, to feel great, to enjoy doing their hair or putting on make-up, or a dress or suit. It should be open and accessible to everyone, and not just a select few who only look this way.” It’s also for this reason the fashion show was open to the public, not just invitees.
While inclusion may be being addressed more and more (though, she notes “there’s developments that can still go on in that direction”), Mirren feels that the end product in beauty needs to better service her generation. “Certainly I think more needs to be done in the development of products,” she says. “Although L’Oréal in particular with their Age Perfect products, are fantastic.”
Mirren has long served as the face of the brand's Age Perfect range, a portfolio of products including the best-selling Cell Renew franchise. Her personal favourite, however, is the home hair colour, she reveals.
“I very rarely colour my hair, but if I do, I’ll use the Age Perfect hair product because it really works. It’s multifaceted, you get lots of different tones in your hair.” Indeed, the Oscar-winning actress - and national treasure - does her own hair. “I do it at home, really!”
When it came to the catwalk, which she likens to “another form of theatre, with incredible costumes,” Mirren didn’t just walk it, she ran it. Barefoot.
True to form, despite her nerves, she found joy and brought so much more to the show than her appearance. Let this be a lesson to us all.
Highlights from the spring/summer 2021 collections
