The Karen Walker Jewellery ‘Magic Hands’ campaign features 93-year-old former Ballets Russes ballerina Phyllis Sues and 78-year-old Broadway performer Roberta Haze.
The women appear in the photos showing only their hands and rear profiles rather than their faces. Both wear their own compilations of new Karen Walker Jewellery pieces alongside existing designs such as arrow rings and filigree bands.
Karen Walker, founder of the New Zealand-based brand, told Jeweller the business was looking to stand out from “predictable and generic” jewellery images with its latest campaign.
“We’re a leader brand and our job is to create product and imagery that challenges the status quo,” Walker said. “Our job is to stand out, not to fit in. This campaign reflects modern ideas of beauty, taste and fashion and does it in a way that our audience and fans are loving.”
Karen Walker Jewellery general manager Chris Worth said Magic Hands was introduced to jewellery retail stockists on 17 August and would be on display at the upcoming Sydney International Jewellery Fair.
He added jewellers would have access to new point of sale material, including catalogues, in the lead-up to the Christmas trading period.
When asked what he would say to those who may have reservations about using older models for a campaign, Worth stated, “Karen Walker is a progressive brand that has its own language and its own voice. It has a strong, global following among interesting, progressive women who want fresh ideas.”
Commenting on why she believed the concept would work for jewellery, Walker said, “Our fans are modern, independent, interesting, creative people who buy jewellery not just for special occasions but because it says something about them day to day.
“These people are looking for interesting, original, strong ideas both in the product and its imagery.”
Age defying
It is not the first time Karen Walker has used mature age models as part of its marketing strategy, having done so for an eyewear campaign in 2013. Both campaigns were developed in collaboration with Los Angeles-based photographer Ari Seth Cohen.
Cohen’s Advanced Style blog is known for its photos of older women and both Karen Walker advertisements have arguably sought to capitalise on demand for more mature models. The trend has seen the likes of nonagenarian Iris Apfel, subject of the documentary Iris, catapulted to catwalk notoriety.
Karen Walker Jewellery is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Worth & Douglas. The brand currently has 150 retail stockists across Australia and New Zealand.
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