E L A S T I C

G E N E R A T I O N
THE FEMALE EDIT
CONTENTS
T H E E L A S T I C W O M A N - 04
T H E N E W P O W E R C O N S U M E R - 06
S I N G L E L A D I E S - 11
A U D A C I O U S S T Y L E - 16
A N T I A N T I-A G E I N G - 23
A G E L E S S R E TA I L - 28
TA C K L I N G W E L L N E S S TA B O O S - 33
T H E S E W O M E N C A N - 38
W I L D AT H E A R T - 44
T I M E L E S S C R E AT I V I T Y - 48
R E T U R N E R S & E N C O R E P R E N E U R S - 53
T H E N E W U R B A N I T E S - 59
B O O M I N G T E C H - 64
P U R P O S E F U L L I V I N G - 69
A B E T T E R C O N V E R S AT I O N - 73
M E T H O D O L O G Y - 78
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S - 79

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 02
Dee O’Dell, photographed by Anne Marie Sterian

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 03

THE ELASTIC WOMAN
In 2015, we published our report The Elastic Generation.
It turned the spotlight on a much misunderstood group
of British people in their 50s and 60s that we believed
merited greater attention from brands. Increased longevity
and unprecedented financial clout combined with a refusal
to grow old the way their parents had, made them “a force
to be reckoned with.”
Better known as the Baby Boomers, we chose to give them
a new name, to capture an innate resilience, strength and
potential: hence ‘elastic’. Not that many in this group would
thank us for another label. Highly individual, strong-minded
and sick of being stereotyped, they would argue that they
defy definition.
Three years on, we are revisiting the Elastic Generation, this
time turning our focus on the UK’s women. Among what is
still an emerging group, they are setting the precedent.
What did we find? Almost two-thirds of our female panel
say they are enjoying life more than ever nowadays. These
women are defined by their confidence and authenticity:
eight out of ten say they care less now what others think
of them than they did in their younger years, while 68%
say they are more outspoken than they used to be. As our
trends will reveal, they are active, engaged and involved:
pillars of family, community and society. They’re packing
life to the full, not slowing down or withdrawing. So it’s a
bitter irony that more than half of the women we polled
should also feel that their age now makes them invisible
to society.
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
INTRODUCTION
Accepted wisdom gives a very different picture of their
lives, one that assumes infirmity and incompetence.
George Lee, co-founder of the organisation The Age of
No Retirement, describes a “narrative of decline” that
dogs those over fifty, characterised by “isolation, poverty,
dementia and technological illiteracy.”
When it comes to communications, brands are missing
the mark. Back in 2015, our panel told us that it seemed
all brands want to talk to them about is the end of life and
physical decline: stairlifts, funeral plans and hearing aids.
Their feelings today have not changed. The two words
women choose to describe advertising aimed at them?
‘Patronising’ and ‘stereotyped’. As a result, 72% say they
pay no heed to advertising. Nine out of ten say they would
just like to be treated as a person, not a stereotype.
Our collective understanding of what later life looks like
remains woefully outdated. Age no longer dictates the
way we live. Physical capacity, financial circumstances and
mindset arguably have far greater influence. And there’s no
fixed pattern for how any of us grows older.
Elastic Generation women are hitting their fifties, sixties
and even seventies and realising they might have decades
of life left. They are living according to how they feel,
rather than how they ought, whether that means divorcing
or dating, travelling or starting a business. As decision-
makers, entrepreneurs, caregivers and creators, Elastic
Generation women continue to push the boundaries and
upend the status quo. Ever the generation of rebels, they
are reinventing life past fifty, as they forge the path others
will follow.
In the future, ageless living will become the norm for all of us,
as continuing advances in longevity make extended healthy
lives a reality. The women of the Elastic Generation are at
the vanguard of this change, which is creating possibilities
for brands to better meet their needs and support their
ambitions.
This new report, based on original primary research, aims to
uncover these rich new seams of opportunity by shining a
light on this complex and diverse group. We have identified
a number of trends which reflect the multi-faceted nature
of Elastic Generation women. While every woman is an
individual, these are helpful themes and territories to
start building understanding. And they point to enormous
potential for innovation by brands that welcome and
engage women in this group. From fashion to finance, from
healthcare to leisure, brands in a multitude of categories
have much to gain by thinking Elastic.
Marie Stafford
European Director, The Innovation Group
J. Walter Thompson
04
Alex Rotas, photographer and author

“LIFE BEGINS AT ANY AGE

YOU DECIDE LIFE BEGINS.”
Alex Rotas

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 05
Fitbit

THE NEW
POWER CONSUMER

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 06
 Alex Bruni for JD Williams, photographed by Wendy Carrig
THE NEW
POWER CONSUMER
Make some room millennials, the new power consumer in Britain
today is female and over 50. The over 50s outspent their younger
counterparts for the first time in 2015, yet 67% of our panel told
us they think advertisers only care about young people. Brands are
missing out on a golden opportunity.

Hitachi Capital UK and CEBR research
have revealed that the over 50s now
account for more than half of consumer
spending in the UK, shelling out £376
billion on discretionary items in 2015
and accounting for more than 6% of
GDP.1 Compared to the under 50s, the
report says, spending among the older
age group has grown three times faster
over the past decade, driven in part
by greater life expectancy and labour
market participation.
The latest official government figures
on consumer spending bear out the
research, revealing that the group aged
50-64 are the top spenders in a host of
categories: from food to clothing; from
household goods and services to new
cars; from hotels abroad to eating out.2
This is a growing trend. A recent report
by Coniq for Property Week based on
three years of data found that the over
50s spend 42% more on retail goods
than other age groups, and 66% more
than millennials.3
Yet companies continue to put all
their eggs in just one basket. Data
from Goldman Sachs suggests that
63% of businesses focus on targeting
millennials,4 despite evidence of a
“rebalancing of the economy…towards
the silver pound,” as Hitachi/CEBR’s
report puts it. While millennials are 53% ENJOY
clearly a crucial focus for brands too,
the growth opportunity is with the over SPLASHING OUT
50s. There’s an open goal being missed
here. ON THINGS FOR
This is particularly the case when it
comes to women. UK data from JWT’s
THEMSELVES
2016 Women’s Index study suggests
that women over 50 control most
of the purchase decisions in their
households (78%) and in more than
half of cases (55%), they are the main
breadwinner too.5

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 07

Over half of our panelists were happy
to admit that they enjoy splashing out
on things for themselves these days.
But their spending is not dedicated
exclusively to their own needs, boosting
their influence as consumers. Older
women play a pivotal role at the heart
of the modern family, something that
is rarely acknowledged. Frequently
stereotyped as the carefree empty
nester, in fact many women in the
Elastic age group are still supporting
others: a fifth still have children at home
while a quarter worry about caring for
elderly parents. The support extends
to grandchildren too. According to the
charity Grandparentsplus, more than
one million working women rely on
grandparents for childcare.6
Family is acutely important to these
women – eight out of ten say the older
they get, the more family means to
“I WOULD SAY I AM A SAVVY SHOPPER. I LIKE TO
THINK I HAVE DONE MY HOMEWORK, ESPECIALLY
WITH BIG DECISIONS... I WILL PAY FULL PRICE IF IT’S
SOMETHING I REALLY LIKE AND WANT BUT OFTEN
I WILL WAIT FOR A REDUCTION IN PRICE.”
JWT Online Community
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Melodie Holliday, by Jay Lee 2016 © ShadesofNoir
them, which translates into spending
of both time and money. Research
from SAGA has found that on average,
grandparents give more than £9,000
to each grandchild to cover deposits
on property, education, holidays and
more.7 Making them happy is key
too. Skip-gen travel is an emerging
trend that describes holidays where
grandparents take the grandkids away,
leaving Mum and Dad behind.
Despite assuming the role of the
financial provider, this group is not
spendthrift. In fact, Elastic women
are shrewd shoppers, who love getting
a bargain and are prepared to put
the legwork in to get one: 72% look
online regularly to compare prices
and find deals. And according to
JWT’s Frontier(less) Retail report 81%
won’t make a shopping move without
checking Amazon first.8
08
Nora Harper, photographed by Annie Lai

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 09
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
The Elastic woman is a crucially important consumer:
is she in your brand’s blind spot?
02.
Her family is more important than ever – play up her
role at the heart of the family, not the empty nest.
03.
Remember, she’s a savvy spender, happy hunting
down a bargain, and she likes nothing better than to
snag a great deal.

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 11
SINGLE LADIES

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Spring/Summer 2017 Lingerie Portrait Series Featuring Mercy Brewer, photographed by Harry Were / Courtesy of Lonely
SINGLE LADIES
A new tribe of single women are reveling in their independence
and freedom, living on their own terms and answering to no one.
Whether they are swiping right on
dating apps or simply enjoying their
own company, single Elastics are
thriving. In our research, we found
that 28% of Elastic women are single,
divorced or separated (not including
those widowed) and often in no hurry to
take a jaunt back down the aisle. JWT’s
Women’s Index finds more women over
50 believe that “love isn’t the be all
end all” than any other age group.9 As
presenter and journalist Lowri Turner
wrote recently in The Telegraph, “Being
single in my fifties feels like I’ve finally
got myself back.”10
This year, the Office for National
Statistics reported that the number of
single people in their 50s has doubled
in 15 years.11 The rise in singles is
particularly apparent among women,
driven in part by a growing divorce rate.
For women over 55, the divorce rate
saw double digit growth from 2015 to
2016. There’s also been a rise in the
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
number of women in their fifties who
have never married, up 150% between
2002 and 2015.
While their numbers are growing, single
women of all ages are stigmatized and
depicted as lonely Miss Havishams. Yet
far from feeling bitter, many women
are finding advantages in having no
one to answer to but themselves,
pursuing their own interests and feeling
empowered by their independence.
Professor Bella de Paulo of the
University of California has spent
two decades studying singledom and
concludes that it has many benefits
for women, telling Refinery29, “Single
women find being alone is a wonderful
time for restoration, creativity and
personal growth. And there are so
many more opportunities to create “I’VE ALWAYS BEEN INDEPENDENT,
the life you want, such as traveling,
following your passions and doing
AND MORE SO SINCE I GOT DIVORCED”
meaningful work.”12 JWT Online Community
12
 Harry Were / Courtesy of Lonely
Brands have a growing opportunity to create find a partner or just enjoy the flirtation. According
services and solutions for this independent mature to research from CEBR, 1 in 4 Britons over 50 is
woman, not least in travel. According to JWT dating.14 Stitch is one of the companies helping
research, 10% of Elastic women regularly travel older singles to connect. The “companion finding”
alone. This trend is fueling a wave of demand yet app and website aims to connect older adults who
many companies still slap solo travelers with the are geographically close for friendship or romance.
additional single supplement charge. Solitair, a
holiday operator bucking the trend by catering to With all this dating going on, there’s an accompanying
singles without these dreaded supplements, has boost to the economy, in expenditure on clothing,
reported record sales this beauty services and cosmetics,
year, with passenger numbers not to mention the wining and
up 43% compared to the “AT 51 YEARS OLD AND dining. CEBR’s research also
same period in 2016.13 Equally SINGLE, I AM NOW PART found that older daters spend
buoyant is the Free Bird club, more than their younger
a web-based travel platform
OF A GROWING GROUP counterparts, averaging £58
for Elastics, which connects SURFING A ZEITGEISTIAN per date.
boomers with like-minded WAVE OF 50-PLUS
people of the same age with FREEDOM. AND, IN Naturally our Elastic singles
spare rooms, making it easier want to feel empowered and
for women to travel with MY EXPERIENCE, THIS alluring on their dates, yet
confidence. Hosts and guests IS THE BEST AGE YET few lingerie brands have gone
are encouraged to interact in FOR FLYING SOLO.” out of their way to engage
order to build new friendships. the older woman or create
Lowri Turner, TV presenter, attractive styles for her.
“We want to disrupt ageing, journalist, nutritional therapist New Zealand-based Lonely
making it a much more vibrant and hypnotherapist15 Lingerie stood out by casting
part of life,” founder Peter Mercy Brewer, a model in her
Mangan, told us, adding, late fifties, in their beautifully-
“The Freebird Club is about building enriching shot Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign, while Calvin
connections between older adults in a way that is Klein tapped the 73-year-old Lauren Hutton for an
fun and empowering.” all-ages campaign shot by Sofia Coppola.

A wave of dating sites and platforms are also For many older women, singledom is empowering
helping to build better connections. While many and liberating. This is a positive platform on which
remain happily single, other women are dipping brands can both engage and support them.
their toes back in the dating waters, whether it’s to

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Harry Were / Courtesy of Lonely

EL A S T I C G EN ER AT I O N T H E FE M A L E ED I T 14
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Don’t assume Elastic women are married or
wish they were – many are loving the freedom that
the single life offers.
02.
To reach Elastic singles, tap into their mood
of empowerment and independence.
03.
Create products and services tailored to the needs
of ‘one’ and ensure singles are not restricted or
penalized in their choices.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 15
MANGO campaign 2017 “A story of uniqueness”

AUDACIOUS STYLE

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AUDACIOUS STYLE
The fashion business is slowly waking up to the potency of older
women, but Elastic influencers are already one step ahead, taking
matters of style into their own hands.
At the Versace Spring/Summer 2018
show in Milan, there were some surprise
guests. The “original supermodels,”
Naomi, Christy, Cindy, Helena and
Claudia, all in their late forties and early
fifties, triumphantly closed the show
and stole the runway.16
Yet while fashion has started to
acknowledge the spending power of
older women by giving the nod to more
mature faces in shows and campaigns
(see Maye Musk for Concept Korea,
Yasmin Le Bon for Armani, Yazemeenah
Rossi for Land of Women’s lingerie
campaign), they are still grossly
underrepresented in proportion to their
spending power. Despite households
headed by people in the 50-64 age
group spending the most on women’s
clothing in 2016, women upwards of
forty are largely invisible in fashion.17
This year’s London Fashion Week
saw the staging of a protest at age
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Model: Kelly Brennan Model Agency: Mrs Robinson Management UK Photographer: Silvia Draz
discrimination, led by retailer JD
Williams for their #GrowupLFW
initiative. Five models, all aged over
45, carried placards with slogans like
“Fashion has no age limit.” The brand,
which has long championed the mature
woman, is tapping a raw nerve: 69%
of Elastic women think the fashion
industry ignores people their age.
This is not just a question of visibility,
it’s about better provision too. Bodies
change as women age, particularly when
they go through menopause. Some
retailers seem to take this as their cue
to bring out a sea of ill-fitting neutrals
but 82% of Elastic women think that
the clothes that are aimed at them are
way too old-fashioned. Similar numbers
(86%) believe that style should not be
defined by age. OK, so maybe they
don’t want to dress like they did in their
twenties, but Elastic women still want
to dress with style and feel good.
17
Nayna McIntosh, Founder & CEO of Hope
The void has prompted a wave of Elastic
influencers to take matters into their
own hands, styling their own fashion
blogs, social feeds and content that
better reflects the values and tastes of
this generation.
64-year-old American professor
Lyn Slater created her fashion blog
Accidental Icon after struggling herself
to find anything relatable. For journalist
and author Alyson Walsh it was a similar
story. She started her blog, That’s Not
My Age after noticing a dearth of digital
content that could inspire women
(and men) of all ages. Likewise, Ceri
Wheeldon created her website Fab
After Fifty to combat what she saw as
a stereotyped portrayal of women her
age.
Communities of women are coalescing
around influencers that instinctively
understand them. And these role
models are growing both in number
and in influence. Slater’s unique sense
of style and authenticity was tapped by
Spanish retailer Mango in their 2017
campaign “A Story of Uniqueness.”
Meanwhile Uniqlo chose to launch
their Spring 2017 Inès de La Fressange
collection on the “mid-life chic” blog
created by ex-Selfridges magazine
editor Nikki Garnett.18
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Mikella Lowe braved the tough world
of publishing to create a new magazine
that addresses women in their forties
and upwards. Renaissance, now on its
third issue, bids to shift the downbeat
cultural narrative that dogs mid-life:
“We fear the future, we hide the years
and we fight our wrinkles,” says editor
and creative director Mikella, “I wanted
a platform to show that this time in
life […] holds opportunities for growth,
discovery and the freedom to live the
way we choose.”19
“WHEN YOU HAVE
IMAGERY WITH REAL
WOMEN, QUITE OFTEN
THE FASHION PRESS
ARE NOT INTERESTED
IN THAT BECAUSE
THAT’S NOT REALLY
WHAT THEY SEE AS
FASHION. AND YET MY
CUSTOMERS LOVE IT.”
Nayna McIntosh, Founder and
CEO of Hope Fashion
18
 19
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Renaissance magazine, covers for issue 02. Photography (from left to right) by Amanda De Simone, Christine Kreiselmaier and Janne Rugland
Model: Lee Frölich Model Agency: Modelwerk, Germany Photographer: Janna Tode

“I FIND THAT I HAVE TO SHOP AROUND MORE NOW THAN EVER

BEFORE, NOTHING TO DO WITH TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT
SIZE, BUT MORE TO DO WITH THE FIT. I CAN TRY MY SAME SIZE
IN VARIOUS STORES BUT THEY SEEM TO DIFFER IN HOW THEY
FIT AND MAKE ME LOOK. I DON’T FIND IT EASY.”

JWT Online Community

Renaissance makes a point of highlighting
brands that create flattering yet fashion-
forward designs for the 90% of Elastic
women who refuse to start dressing in beige
just because they are over 50. Its first two
issues featured looks from COS, Vivienne
Westwood, & Other Stories and Lonely.
Winser London aims to fill the gap for
luxurious, flattering and stylish clothing
for women of all ages. Founder Kim
Winser (formerly of M&S, Pringle and
Aquascutum) wanted to create a brand
that made women feel good: “Helping in
any way to make a woman feel as good as
she can, just from the clothes, then I’ve
done a job. For me, I love giving a little bit
of confidence.”20
and stylish clothes to make women feel
beautifully confident. She told us, “I
genuinely believe that if a woman is dressing
for her body shape she will feel comfortable
and with that comes confidence and when
we feel confident we behave differently.”
Even for a life-long fashion insider,
adapting her style in mid-life was not easy.
“I really struggled to adapt my sense of
style with this changing body shape I was
going through and I just found it harder
to put things together and style outfits,”
says McIntosh, who has held senior roles
at M&S, Next, ASDA and Per Una. This
empathy for what a generation of women
was going through spurred the launch of
Hope in 2015.

Nayna McIntosh, founder of Hope Fashion,
argues that feeling good in what you wear
has a positive psychological impact. Her
brand, named after her mother, aims to
embrace women of all shapes, sizes and
ages, in particular women over 50 who
have become invisible to the high street,
by offering a range of elegant, wearable
Hope defies industry norms by using
real women of all ages as models, which
McIntosh says resonates with customers,
who find it more relatable: “If I put a shot
out that’s my mum wearing an outfit or one
of the girls in the office, people love that.”
Perhaps it’s time the rest of the industry
got real?

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 20
MANGO campaign 2017 “A story of uniqueness”

86%
BELIEVE
STYLE IS NOT
DEFINED
BY AGE

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 21
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Style is ageless, so shift the narrative that focuses on
youth. Celebrate the self-knowledge that comes with age.
02.
Create clothes that lift Elastic women’s confidence.
Ditch the beige and don’t try to make her invisible.
03.
Get real, understand how older bodies are different
and create designs that flatter them.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 22
White Hot Hair

ANTI
ANTI-AGEING

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 23

ANTI
ANTI-AGEING
For decades, the beauty industry has told women to fight the signs of
ageing. Now the tide is turning as women insist on the right to celebrate
beauty at any age.
Beauty brands have begun to acknowledge
their older customer base, with NARS
signing Charlotte Rampling and Tilda
Swinton as ambassadors, while Boots No 7
featured ballerina Alessandra Ferri in a
recent campaign. L’Oréal boasts Helen
Mirren, Susan Sarandon and Julianne
Moore on its roster and Lancôme even
re-hired Isabella Rossellini in 2016, having
dropped her twenty years earlier. All sound
decisions when women spend an estimated
£43,000 on beauty and toiletries between
the ages of 50 and 70 according to beauty
website Escentual, which also finds that
women over 45 now account for 58% of
their market.21
At the same time, the industry stands
accused of undermining women. The anti-
ageing rhetoric of the beauty industry has
long dealt in metaphors of the battlefield.
Brands talk of ‘fighting’ age and the ‘war
on wrinkles.’ Women are encouraged to
resist the signs of ageing in a fight that
must be won at all costs. Throughout their
lives, women are taught that youthfulness
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Rodin olio lusso, photography by Marcus Cooper
is the ultimate attribute of beauty. Even in
their twenties and thirties, faces become
problematic, presenting issues to be
corrected and solved. Yet a majority of
Elastic women who use beauty products
(68%), reject this aspiration saying they
just want to feel and look their best, rather
than look younger. They are cynical about
products which claim to be able to restore
youth too. “You can’t claw back what has
already happened,” one woman from our
panel insisted. Instead, they told us, they
aspire to look healthy and radiant.
Tricia Cusden created her beauty brand,
Look Fabulous Forever, after becoming
frustrated with the industry. She felt “that
the beauty industry wasn’t interested in me
unless they were selling me anti-ageing
which I thought was quite insulting.” She
is one of several Elastic women who have
created beauty products to suit their own
tastes, like Linda Rodin, creator of the
Rodin brand, and Cindy Joseph of US-
based Boom Cosmetics.
24

Cusden is part of a groundswell, which
now calls for the concept of anti-ageing
to be ditched, in favor of more honest and
realistic beauty messaging. “The beauty
industry assumes we are all engaged in
an anti-ageing battle,” she explains, “I am
determined to change this.”22
She has some back-up for her mission.
Allure magazine announced in August 2017
that it would ban the term anti-ageing from
its pages and called on brands to follow its
lead.23 Cover star Helen Mirren backed the
crusade, recalling a conversation she had
with L’Oréal upon being appointed brand
ambassador when she said, “This word anti-
ageing, we know we’re getting older. You just
want to look and feel as great as you can.”
Our panel is also aligned. One woman told
us, “I am happy in my skin. I don’t have
negative thoughts about age and wrinkles
because I loved my grandmothers who
were quite old when I was born and never
saw them young. They were beautiful to
me. I am more confident now than when I
was 25, 35, or 45.”
So anti-ageing is out, but how should
brands approach Elastic women when it
comes to beauty?
According to Tricia Cusden, it’s all about
delivering a positive message, one that
assures women that it’s okay to age. “One
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Tricia Cusden, founder of Look Fabulous Forever
of the ways that ageism is expressed is
through the attitude towards older women
and beauty, as if to say you can’t enjoy your
looks or value yourself if you’ve got a few
wrinkles” she says, “None of that resonated
with me. I just kept thinking I’d love to start
a make-up company that actually says it’s
fine to get older.”
Authenticity is the foundation of the Look
Fabulous Forever brand: photos are never
retouched and much of the imagery used
is of real women rather than models.
Products are specifically formulated to
flatter mature skin, which can be more
porous due to lower levels of collagen.
Another brand sending the message that
it’s okay to just do you, is UK-based White
Hot Hair, whose products are designed
to enhance the beauty of naturally grey
hair, rather than hide it. The company was
inspired by the experiences of the founder
Jayne Mayled, who was unable to find any
suitable products when she decided to
embrace her greys.
The rise of specialist lines doesn’t mean big
brands can put their feet up. Many women
expect to be engaged by them, among
them professor and fashionista Lyn Slater
who told W Magazine recently, “I would
rather pressure MAC Cosmetics to think
of me as a consumer, than help promote a
separate over-50 makeup brand.”24
25
White Hot Hair

68% OF WOMEN WHO

FOLLOW A DAILY REGIME USE
BEAUTY PRODUCTS TO FEEL
THEIR BEST, NOT YOUNGER

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 26
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Drop the negative beauty messaging, it’s off the mark.
These women know they aren’t getting younger, they just
want to look and feel good at the age they are.
02.
Brands must engage older women, whether that’s
through targeting specific needs and skin types or creating
inclusive products that work for all ages.
03.
Celebrate the positives around ageing, like health and
radiance. Build on the confidence of women in this age group.
It’s OK to look the age you are.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 27
Westquay, Southampton, UK

AGELESS RETAIL

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 28
Petersham Nurseries, Covent Garden, London
AGELESS
RETAIL
Ageless experiential retail can deliver a winning shopping
experience for all.
Are retailers losing touch with our
Elastic women? A study from global
loyalty marketing agency ICLP found
that 82% of respondents aged over
55 believed their favorite retailer no
longer understands them and what they
need.25 Loyalty is fragile, says the study,
with nine out of 10 willing to take their
business elsewhere.
“This woman has more money and
more time than perhaps she’s ever had
but when she gets out onto the high
street is there anyone that really wants
to talk to her?” asked Nayna McIntosh,
founder of Hope Fashion.
What Elastic women want is hardly
rocket science. Take shopping in
physical stores. Women are looking for
a place that’s welcoming and friendly,
where there is no pressure to buy.
And they want a pleasant space in
which to wander, which is spacious and
uncluttered. Crucially they want stores
that welcome anyone – no matter
their age or size. Effectively this boils
down to two things: a great experience,
preferably in an environment that is
age-agnostic.
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
House of Fraser is revamping stores
in a bid to deliver a more engaging
‘integrated’ experience. Their Rushden
Lakes store, which opened in summer
2017, includes a champagne bar and
restaurant. The retailer has plans to
add other experiences like yoga classes
and wellness studios, providing a “third
space” and giving women multiple
reasons to come into the store and
spend time.
Garnet Hill, a US online lifestyle retailer
which sells clothing, bedding and home
décor, took a quirky approach to the
shopping experience, creating a mobile
studio out of a refurbished shipping
container. Extensive research identified
that women in this age group like to
shop with their hands, so they created
a tactile, interactive experience which
allowed their core audience to feel
the quality of the products. The pop-
up also took the integrated approach,
hosting wine tastings, farm-to-table
brunches, book signings, yoga classes
and art shows. The campaign was a
great success, driving almost 2 million
social media impressions.26
29
 Petersham Nurseries, Covent Garden, London
WHAT 56
%
ELASTIC
WOMEN

Y
BU
TO
RE
WANT

SU
ES
PR
O
SN
IN A
E’
ER

54%
“I LOVE SHOPPING FOR THINGS FOR THE HOME, CLOTHING ETC.

H
–T
STORE
G
I USUALLY GO OUT WITH MY DAUGHTER ONCE A WEEK AND WE
IN
M
CO

LOOK ROUND THE SHOPS BUT HARDLY A DAY GOES BY THAT I DON’T
EL
W

VISIT DEBENHAMS.COM, JOHNLEWIS.COM ETC!”

D

S
AN

IZE
DS
Y

N
DL

E SA JWT Online Community

EN

AG
LL
RI

A
OF
SF

PLE
EL

P EO
FE

ES
OM Petersham Nurseries’ new lifestyle multigenerational appeal through cool
IT

E LC
IT W
store in London’s Covent Garden and comfortable basics that anyone

50%
UK WOMEN
IT’S PLEASANT TO WANDER AROUND
AGED 53-72 combines pieces for the home and can wear. Gap’s Athleta brand takes a
I T ’S
CL
EA
garden with two restaurants, a wine similarly inclusive stance with athletic
NA
ND cellar, a delicatessen and a florist. The clothing that targets women according
IT

TID
’S

Y
store provides a place for family to to activity, not age.
SP
AC

meet and relax, with outdoor space for

IO
US

alfresco dining. Experiential elements This age-neutral approach can also be

–N

seen at retailers like Cos, Jigsaw and

O

come in the shape of the Potting Bench,

TT
O

Aesop. These brands acknowledge that

O

an interactive space for demonstrating

CR

today, women of all ages might buy

O

44%

horticultural creativity, along with

W
DE

regular in-store demos from The Urban the same products but style them in
D
O

their own unique way. Aesop focuses

R

School of Garden Inspiration.

FU

squarely on the shopping experience,

LL

Think about your favorite shop.

O
F

Tackling the age-agnostic brief is US with their minimalist product displays

Q

One that you like to visit or

UE

retailer Lou & Grey. Their stores take and open plan interior. At their new
UE

potter in if you have a little

S

time to spare. What is it that aim at an ageless vibe with cool, calm Chelsea store designed by architects
39 and spacious design. The loungewear Snøhetta, shoppers are greeted with
you like about that store? %
brand is openly of the mind that tea and can take time out to relax on
age is irrelevant, instead aiming for comfy sofas.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 30
Aesop, Duke of York Square, London

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 31
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
At the absolute minimum, make Elastic women
feel welcome in store. Elastic women want a relaxed
browsing experience with no pressure to buy.
02.
Add experiential elements, creating a ‘third space’
to appeal to women of all ages.
03.
Adopt an age-agnostic approach with simple,
uncluttered design.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 32
LIBEERATION, The Portsmouth Brewery

TACKLING
WELLNESS TABOOS

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 33
Grace Belgravia
TACKLING
WELLNESS TABOOS
For women in their fifties and beyond, aspects of wellness are often
taboo. It’s time to talk honestly, addressing them in an unflinching,
unapologetic way.
Let’s Talk Menopause
Women have long suffered in silence
through menopause. But a new
generation is encouraging a more open
conversation, to share learnings and to
put an end to unnecessary stigma.
A survey by the British Menopause
Society (BMS) showed that more than
half of women say that the menopause
had a negative impact on their lives.27
For some, menopause can cause
anxiety, depression and leave women
feeling isolated. In fact, over a quarter
of women (26%) said that they felt less
outgoing in social situations and 23%
felt more isolated. Nayna McIntosh,
founder and CEO of Hope Fashion,
told us the menopause even affected
her sense of style: “When I got to 50,
51 the thing I really struggled with was,
in my head I felt 30 but clearly my body
wasn’t.”
Wellbeing coach Jane Dowling set
up her website Meno & Me (www.
menoandme.com) to reach out to other
women going through menopause.
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
“We are a new generation of menos”
said Jane on Channel 5’s Menopause:
Breaking the Taboo documentary,
“We need to share and be positive.”28
Kathryn Colas, CEO and founder of
Simply Hormones, shares this mentality,
traveling around the country educating
businesses about menopause and how
to create positive work environments.
West Midlands Police Force is putting
this learning into action by setting
up support groups for female police
officers, offering them extra support
and amenities such as desk fans.
Wellness brands are also beginning
to design services for women going
through menopause. The Mail recently
reported on three-day ‘menopause
retreats’ conceived by former PR guru
Lynne Franks.29 A pioneer in this space
is Grace Belgravia, an upscale women’s
health and lifestyle destination. They
offer tailored advice and bespoke plans
for customers that encompass all
aspects of health, fitness, beauty and
nutrition.
34

Taking a celebratory approach is
Libeeration, a beer for the menopause
from New Hampshire’s Portsmouth
Brewery. It’s the brainchild of brewery
co-owner Joanne Francis, who had
noted the rise of herbal teas, remedies
and essences and wondered why no
one had thought to add those essences
to beer, a drink she and all her friends
loved. The brew was designed with the
help of women’s health practitioners
and herbalists and contains a range
of ingredients including motherwort,
lemon balm, chamomile and stinging
nettle.
Sex: What Women Want
At the Venice Film Festival premiere
of Netflix release Our Souls at Night,
Jane Fonda told the media that “she
lives for sex scenes” with co-star
Robert Redford. At the risk of younger
generations recoiling in horror, our
Women’s Index found that British
women over 50 are right behind Fonda:
83% believe that sexual fulfilment is not
just for the young and 54% say they
always expect to be sexually active.30
JWT research found that one in five
Elastic women rates her sex life as
excellent. Yet older female sexuality is
broadly invisible in our culture. With a
few exceptions, cinema and TV more
usually depict older women as asexual
mothers and grandmothers. Co-
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Beautiful Bodies of Elders, photography by Jade Beall
founder of Spark Solutions and self-
styled “vagi-preneur” Rachel Scherl
told us that cultivating this stereotype
was not good for women. As she
explained, “there is plenty of research
that suggests that people that have
active, satisfying sex lives, live longer.”
Navigating sexuality is hard enough for
older women without having to deal
with cultural taboos too. The BMS
study found that over half (51%) of
women said that the menopause had
affected their sex lives. Changes in the
body can make sex painful or affect
women’s libido, yet women clearly don’t
83% OF OVER 50S SAY
want to consign their erotic lives to the
past. Where are the solutions for them?
As Rachel Scherl explains, “When you
look at Viagra and that whole market,
one of the things that we have done
is we have solved the problem for a SEXUAL FULFILMENT ISN’T
lot of men, but for those of them that
are having intercourse with a female JUST FOR THE YOUNG32
partner, nothing has changed for her.”
One company looking to fill this gap is
Nookybox.com which has just launched
The Signature Menopause Box, filled
with erotic toys, lubricants, and massage
oils to enhance sexual pleasure.31
There’s more room for innovation in this
space and opportunity for brands that
play in the sexuality space to consider a
broader definition of their audience.
35
 Advanced Motherhood
Perhaps the biggest taboo of all,
is motherhood in later life. While
having children later is the new
normal, advances in techniques
such as IVF, egg donation and egg
freezing mean that it is now feasible
for women to have children well into
their fifties and even sixties. In the
future, some doctors even believe
it may be possible to generate eggs
using stem cell technology.
The UK media saw a flurry of
coverage in early 2017, when it was
revealed that former director of the
Serpentine Galleries, Julia Peyton-
EL A S T I C G EN ER AT I O N T H E FE M A L E ED I T
Jones had become a mother for the
first time at the age of 64. Some
commentators decried her choice
as ‘selfish’ and ‘irresponsible’ but
as women live longer and healthier
lives, older motherhood is likely to
become more common. More than
2,000 babies were born to women
over 45 in England and Wales in
2016.33
Eight out of ten women told us that
their family grows more important
to them, the older they get. It’s time
to include new motherhood in that
family scenario.
36
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Help women overcome the wellness taboos by engaging
in frank and honest conversation with them.
02.
Consider a broader audience when it comes to sexuality
and even motherhood.
03.
Support women’s wellness through innovation – there are
many pockets of opportunity here, largely untapped.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 37
Fitbit

THESE WOMEN CAN

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 38

THESE
WOMEN CAN
Think older women can’t be athletes? Think again. The new
generation are raising the bar when it comes to sport and fitness.
Photographer Alex Rotas began taking
pictures of older ‘masters’ athletes to
combat the ‘ageing narrative’ which
dictates that athletic achievement
has an expiry date.34 “in terms of
empowerment,” she says, “you can’t
become what you don’t see.” Alex is not
short of potential subjects.
Zumba-shaking, marathoning, aerobic-
stepping, dog-walking women
everywhere are ditching the sofa and
pulling on the lycra. This generation of
women is fitter and healthier than ever.
Our research found that more than half
of older women (54%) say becoming
healthy and physically active is an
ambition for the next phase of life and
48% see regular exercise as one of the
most important things for good health
and wellbeing. JWT Women’s Index
data reveals that women over 50 rank
“being healthy and fit” as one of the
ultimate markers of success, from a list
of more than thirty options.35
When it comes to weekly sports
participation, the age group 45-54
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Federico Bonelli as Armand and Alessandra Ferri as Marguerite. © ROH, 2017. Photo by Tristram Kenton
has shown the strongest growth in the
past decade, up 41% according to Sport
England’s Active People research. 55-
64 year-olds are not far behind, with
a rise of 28% in weekly participation
over the same period.36 Parkrun UK, a
series of running events in the UK, has
tracked more than 4.5 million miles
run by Brits over the age of 50 in the
52 weeks to October 24th 2017, an
increase of 40% on the previous year.37
Inspiring older women on to athletic
achievements, great and small, are
some mighty role models. Challenging
expectations around what older bodies
can achieve is all in a day’s work for
these inspiring female athletes.
Italian prima ballerina Alessandra Ferri
dances for the Royal Ballet at the age
of 54, starring in the 2017 production
of Marguerite and Armand at the Royal
Opera House and giving the lie to what
choreographer Wayne McGregor
describes as ballet’s “brutal youth
obsession.”38
39
This Girl Can, Sport England
Meanwhile Cirque du Soleil counts acrobats
in their 50s and 60s among its number,
including a performer in her late 50s who
performs the same challenging routine
as acrobats in their 20s, says company
physiologist Dean Kriellaars.39
We spoke to Nottingham’s Nikki Love, 51,
amid her successful attempt to break the
world record for the most consecutive days
running a marathon distance by a woman,
running 63 marathons in 63 days.
Nikki insists there’s nothing special about
her that makes her capable of such a feat.
“I’m very, very average,” she says, “I come
from a very average background. I just have
the determination to keep going.”
She regularly finds herself convincing people
younger than her that it’s not too late for
them to attempt a marathon. “I’m always
encouraging people to think big and do. It
can be very ordinary – my running is very
ordinary – but you can do something really
extraordinary if you put your mind to it.”
Many women want to get more active.
Sport England data from 2014/15 shows
that just under half of women aged 55-
64 would like to do more sport.40 But
the barriers to entry can seem more
challenging. A key deterrent is not feeling
safe: getting home from exercise classes at
night can be daunting, while other women
told us they are deterred from taking walks
or jogging due to busy roads.
Older women are less likely to feel
welcomed into fitness too. They say they
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
feel invisible or ‘edited-out’ when it comes
to the leisure and fitness category. Check
the websites and social feeds of most
women’s sportswear brands and you’re
hard pushed to find anyone over the age of
30. One designer quoted in a Vogue piece
on the ‘rules’ of athleisure, even advised
women over 50 to ‘stick to neutrals’ when
it comes to choosing pieces.41 In other
words, stay out of sight, keep yourself in
the background.
A few brands are getting behind Elastic
women, chief among them, Sport England
with its This Girl Can campaign. Its second
phase heroes women in their fifties and
sixties, crucially placing them alongside
younger women, rather than siloing them
into ‘old lady exercise’. In one execution,
67-year-old Catherine Aickin is shown
tackling the grueling British Military Fitness
class she took up in 2009.
Evans Cycles acknowledges older pedalers
in its latest poster campaign, which features
a stylish sixty-something woman alongside
the boys. Mountain bike brand Cotic went
one further, inviting 53-year-old cycling
blogger and journalist Adele Mitchell to be
their brand ambassador.
Meanwhile a handful of leisure brands are
making the point that fitness has no age
barrier. Beyoncé’s Ivy Park activewear label
is aimed at women of all ages. The latest
brand campaign includes shots of dancer
Karen McDonald, Beyoncé’s 60-year-old
choreographer.
40
GAP Athleta

Gap’s Athleta brand has also thought carefully about the needs of older women
when it comes to sportswear, designing for women no matter what their body
type, or their age. Their advertising includes women of all ages, and they vow
never to Photoshop any of their models to boot.

Other brands are making active ageing a reality through sponsorship. In the US,
health insurer Humana supported the 2017 National Senior Games in Alabama,
while in Europe, the 2017 Masters Athletics Championship in Denmark was
sponsored by Europcar, Helnan International Hotels and Craft Sportswear.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 41
Nikki Love

“I’M ALWAYS ENCOURAGING PEOPLE

TO THINK BIG AND DO. […] YOU CAN DO
SOMETHING REALLY EXTRAORDINARY
IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT.”
Nikki Love

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 42
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Don’t edit Elastic women out of the fitness category.
Let them be loud and proud athletes.
02.
Harness some of the amazing role models in this space
to help women “be what they see”.
03.
Encourage participation – many women just need
a nudge to jump in. Consider their personal safety – this
is a key barrier for older women.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 43
 WILD
AT HEART

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 44

WILD
AT HEART
The wild days aren’t over. Elastic women are seeking thrills and
adventure, proudly growing older with a dash of rebellion.
The original rebels are not slowing
down. Embracing their wild side, 57% of
Elastic women are making more effort
to do the things they always dreamed
of doing, whether it’s coloring their
hair rainbow shades like Helen Mirren,
getting a tattoo like Susan Sarandon or
sharing a bikini shot on Instagram like
Denise Welch. Far from sinking into a
comfortable cardie, they are mining
a sense of adventure that drives them
to seek out the new and the bold.
These women are proving that there
is no longer any such thing as age-
appropriate behavior. In the words of
photographer Alex Rotas, “Life begins
at any age you decide life begins.”
And they don’t care what anyone else
thinks: eight out of 10 say they are less
concerned about what others think of
them now they are older.
A yearning to discover the world is
something we normally associate with
the post-university gap year crowd. It
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Steph Holton, Curvy Riders Motorcycle Club
turns out wanderlust is with us for life.
The over 50s now account for 58% of
travel spend in the UK.42 6 out of ten
Elastic women are intent on traveling in
their next stage of life with adventure
a draw for many. From husky-sledding
in Finland to snowmobiling to the
Northern Lights, from mountain
trekking to sleeping in a tent in the
desert, we met women with the taste for
discovery. “My travels are quite active”
confirmed one, adding “I would hate to
sit on a beach for a week or two.”
The Women’s Adventure Expo aims to
help them turn their dreams into reality.
Launched in 2015, the Expo aims to
create a like-minded community of
active women of all ages and offers
workshops, inspirational talks and
networking. This year’s event hosted in
Bristol, introduced attendees to open-
water swimming, wild camping, long-
distance hiking as well as offering tips
on outdoor survival.
45
 Profanity Embroidery Group, Top: Fuck the Menopause, a group piece by the Profanity Embroidery Group, Bottom: Right Fucking Tit, Jan Lewis
Companies offering adventure and activity options are are beginning to realize that riding is for anyone, whatever
seeing growing demand from boomers. Solitair Holidays, a age, whatever gender. Women my age, we’re getting to
Manchester-based solo travel package provider, has seen a point where we don’t want to sit around and grow old,
enquiries swell over the past 18 months from boomers we want to do something. Riding gives you this rush that
looking for an adrenalin rush.43 They offer options like things we’re traditionally expected to do just doesn’t.”
hiking along the Turkish coast, skiing in the Italian Alps and
scuba diving in Spain. The feel of the open road and the wind in your hair isn’t
just for those riding a two-wheeler. The most likely
Indulging their wild side is not just for the holidays. Music purchaser of a sports convertible is a woman in her 50s,
festivals are increasingly drawing audiences of all ages. with sales to this demographic quadrupling in the last 15
Although typically considered a rite-of- years.46 After spending years driving
passage for those in their twenties, 31% sensible cars, schlepping their children
of Glastonbury attendees in 2016 were around, women in this group have the
“NO WAY. I’M NOT
over 40.44 In 2017, the BBC website money and the urge for something
hosted a gallery of attendees ranging GOING TO LET more dynamic.
from 18 to 80 years old. Meanwhile ANYTHING SLOW
festivals like Latitude and Wilderness Even the seemingly gentle hobby
ME DOWN UNLESS I of embroidery has had a makeover,
pride themselves on broad cross-genre
programming and draw diverse crowds
HAVE TO. MY FRIENDS with traditional mottoes like ‘Home
as a result. The more luxurious camping ARE THE SAME. WE Sweet Home’ and ‘Bless this House’
options offered at some festivals will transformed into a joyous and colorful
OFTEN REMARK
appeal to Elastics, many of whom have riot of elaborate swearwords and
THAT WE DON’T FEEL irreverent slogans by Whitstable’s
decided they are beyond the ‘roughing-
it’ stage. ANY OLDER.” Profanity Embroidery Group. Co-
founded by Annie Taylor, the fifty-
JWT Online Community
Hobbies are getting a wild makeover strong group meets at a local pub to
too. Just under a third of women (29%) chat, share a drink or two and stitch
are keen on picking up a new hobby or up their delightfully rude creations.47
interest – and they’re not thinking crochet. The number An upcoming project incorporates a selection of
of women over 50 earning their motorcycle license anonymously-contributed secrets which will be stitched
is increasing by double the rate of male riders over 50. up into a Secrets Quilt to be exhibited nationally in 2018.48
With this cohort spending over £340 million on their
motorcycles, this is big business.45 Women are indulging their wild side as it gives them a
powerful sense of fulfilment. They are not acting old
The Curvy Riders club, with many members in their 40s because they don’t feel old: 7 out of ten insist they’re just
and 50s, is the fastest growing female-only motorcycle a kid at heart. Alex Rotas sums it up neatly: “I feel like I
club in the UK. Audrey Sibert who passed her motorcycle want to do all these different things because it makes me
test at 54, told The Telegraph, “Women of the 21st century feel like I am living a full life, which is a wonderful feeling.”

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 46
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Women are not slowing down for a quiet life in the armchair,
so drop the portrayals of a slow and sedentary lifestyle.
02.
Brands in this space should welcome older women.
Desire for action and adventure is on the rise.
03.
No need to keep it serene, these women have a sense
of humor and wonder why brands are so strait-laced with
them. A streak of irreverence may pique their interest.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 47
Ferrous Shift I by Eleanor Lakelin, photographed by Ester Segarra

TIMELESS
CREATIVIT Y

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 48

TIMELESS
CREATIVIT Y
The notion that creativity should be the exclusive preserve
of the fresh-faced is being challenged as the creative prowess
of older women comes to the fore.
In 2017, the UK’s most prestigious award
for contemporary art, the Turner Prize,
abolished the upper age limit for eligible
artists, formerly set at 50. “We want to
acknowledge the fact that artists can
experience a breakthrough in their work
at any age,” Alex Farquharson, chairman
of the jury, told The Telegraph.49 The
rule change cleared the path for Lubaina
Himid to become the oldest ever award
winner as well as the first black woman
to receive the accolade. Now in her
early sixties, she is recognized for her
work focusing on the representation of
black women in art.
It has often been argued that creativity is
the domain of the young, but that myth
is crumbling. In recent years, OWAs
(Older Women Artists) like Himid have
been enjoying a late flourish. Phyllida
Law, is widely considered as one of the
most exciting talents on the British art
scene today. At the age of 72, she was
selected to represent Britain at the
2017 Venice Biennale and nominated
for the Hepworth Prize for sculpture.
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
A Fashionable Marriage, 1987, Lubaina Himid
Professor David Galenson from the
University of Chicago describes the
association of creativity and youth
as a ‘persistent myth.’ His 2016
paper, Creative Life Cycles: Three
Myths, described the phenomenon of
‘experimental innovators’ that hone their
craft throughout their lives, peaking in
their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond.50
A mature brain, which science says
is more easily distracted, can even
be beneficial to the creative process.
Researchers at the University of
Toronto found that distraction can
power abstract thinking which aids
creative work.51
Further, creativity is good for you.
Findings from the Wellbeing in Later Life
Index, from Age UK and the University
of Southampton demonstrated that
taking part in creative activities had the
greatest impact on wellbeing in later
life.52
49
1421Mhz, Sand Laurenson
Elastic women are now spreading their
creative wings, many adopting art or
design as a career.
Sand Laurenson, a fine artist whose
work is featured in this report, worked
in a number of different roles before
she completed her MA at the Royal
Academy at the age of 44 – its oldest
ever graduate. Despite pursuing her art
later in life, she feels no lack of creative
energy, saying “We are told as we age
to let go, relax, take it easy and yet I
feel more creative, more drive, more
focused than ever before.”
She feels, as in many industries, that
the dice is loaded against her as an
older female artist, but that things are
starting to change: “In a society that
still accepts in many cases that it’s
OK to value a woman doing a job at
less than a man for the same – what
chance female artists? As a half full
kinda woman, I choose to believe things
are changing, too slowly, but change is
coming.”
Eleanor Lakelin taught English in Europe
and West Africa before retraining as a
cabinet maker. Now based at Cockpit
Arts in London, she creates sculptured
vessels from dead or decommissioned
wood found in British forests. She has
exhibited widely, including at the British
House at the 2016 Rio Olympics and
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
showcases her work on Instagram,
boasting 6,327 followers. She recently
won Best Bespoke Project at the
Wood Awards for her Time and Texture
installation, part of A Landscape of
Objects, a site-specific exhibition in the
gardens of Forde Abbey, Somerset.
Alex Rotas also began pursuing creativity
later in life. She became a photographer
in her late fifties after a career as a
university lecturer. She specializes in
images of masters athletes, a theme
otherwise largely ignored. She describes
finding her niche when searching
Google for images of older people: “It
was when these stereotypical images
came up that I thought, ‘Wow there is
a gap that needs filling.” Alex shares her
photography and opinions on Twitter,
Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
Creativity is also a source of pleasure
of course, ably demonstrated by
the Profanity Embroidery Group
from Folkestone in Kent. This group
gathers weekly to chat and stitch
their cheeky designs littered with
curses and swearwords which are
then photographed and uploaded to
Facebook. (See our Wild at Heart
trend for examples of their work.)
Sheer joy is evident in the pieces they
create, proving that, when it comes to
creativity, age is irrelevant.
50
 Universal Drawing 2016, Sand Laurenson
“LET’S MAKE FEMALE CREATIVITY AS ‘SEXY’
AND IMPORTANT AS THE MALE VERSION!”

Sand Laurenson

51
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Remember creativity is not solely confined to gen Z
& millennials – help to facilitate and celebrate the creative
impulses of older women.
02.
Support Elastic creativity. There are lots of opportunities
to sponsor women artists or fund artist in residence programs.
03.
Provide opportunities for them to contribute user-generated
content. These women are adopting platforms like Facebook,
Instagram and Pinterest to showcase their creations.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 52
Tideway London

RETURNERS &
ENCOREPRENEURS

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 53

RETURNERS &
ENCOREPRENEURS
There’s a gap in the workplace, and it is female-shaped.
Retirement is so last century. More
than one in ten women we surveyed
told us they have no plans to retire,
equivalent to 800,000 women. And
why should they? Women make strong
leaders. Stronger than men, according
to research conducted by Zenger
Folkman, which has found that, not only
do women outscore men on a majority
of leadership competencies, their
effectiveness as leaders outpaces that
of men throughout their 40s and 50s.53
So it’s ironic that, while official statistics
reveal that more than 11% of women
continue to work in their 70s, many
other women find that once they reach
“WOMEN RETURNERS. THEY SOUND LIKE THE GHOSTS IN SOME
HORROR MOVIE, DON’T THEY? YOU CAN PRACTICALLY SEE THE
TRAILER WITH THAT GRAVE, APOCALYPTIC, MALE HOLLYWOOD
VOICE BOOMING, ‘WOMEN RETURNERS! THEY’RE BACK!
RISING FROM THE DEAD AND RE-JOINING THE WORKPLACE!”
How Hard Can It Be? Allison Pearson, published by Harper Collins56
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Uber
their fifties, their career opportunities
start to shrink.54 Data from the
group Women Against State Pension
Inequality suggests that the number of
women over 50 who were unemployed
rose by 50% between 2010 and 2014.55
Meanwhile women who drop out of
work to care for children face significant
hurdles trying to find a way back. In a
sign of the zeitgeist, Allison Pearson’s
latest book How Hard Can It Be? plays
on this theme. The tale catches up with
Kate Reddy, the heroine of Pearson’s
bestseller I Don’t Know How She Does
It! now 49 and a half, and looking to get
back into the workplace.
54
A small number of companies are
smoothing the path of returners by creating
returnship programs which bring older
workers back into work. O2 first launched
their Career Returners Programme in
2016, which is intended for employees who
want to restart their career after a gap of
two or more years. Program participants
receive mentoring and coaching support
from both O2 and mentoring and support
organization ‘Women Returners’. In a
clear sign of success, eight of the twelve
first year returner participants have
progressed to senior roles at O2.57 Fidelity
International has a similar scheme. Their
Client Services Returner Programme is
a 26-week paid placement in the client
services team.58 Crucially, both programs
allow participants some degree of flexible
working arrangements – important for
older women, who have plenty of other
responsibilities.
Bringing women back to the workplace
brings huge benefits to businesses, says
Julianne Miles, co-founder of Women
Returners. “Returners bring maturity, a
wealth of experience, and a high degree of
motivation to pick up their careers where
they left off,” she told us. “During their
career break they have often been caring
for children or elderly relatives, and may also
have held volunteer or community roles or
set up their own home-based businesses;
this enables them to bring in a new set of
skills in addition to those developed during
their previous career.”
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
What’s more, building an intergenerational
workforce is a real advantage. George Lee,
founder of the Age of No Retirement,
explains: “If businesses can tap into that
[shared experience], both sides win. So how
can we get businesses to understand that
actually by bringing different ages together,
it’s a win-win situation?”
Returnship initiatives don’t yet have enough
traction to meet the needs of everyone in
this group. No surprise then, that the wave
of entrepreneurship we identified in our
last report continues apace today. Elastic
45% OF BRITISH WOMEN
female entrepreneurs or ‘encorepreneurs’,
are launching businesses in their thousands.
According to research from Hitachi OVER 50 BELIEVE THAT
Capital UK and CEBR the over-50s
will account for the majority of the self- HAVING A JOB OR A CAREER
employed workforce by 2024.59 Barclays IS IMPORTANT TO THEM61
Sanna Kelly for fashion designer Youjai Jin, photography by Iris Bjork
recently reported a 67% rise in women
over 55 opening business accounts in
the past ten years, and the over 65s have
shown the biggest increase of any group
at 132%.60 The bank has even brought
in beauty and wellbeing supremo Liz
Earle, 54, as its Entrepreneurial Business
Advisor. Earle argues that older women
have a natural advantage when it comes to
running a business, telling the Guardian, “I
will probably get shut down for saying this,
but 50-plus women are often more agile
and more adept at multitasking, because
that’s what we have had to do over the last
decades of our lives, juggling caring for
older relatives with bringing up younger
children.”
55

Jayne Kethro, co-founder, T London
Jayne Kethro co-founded T London
in 2014 when she was in her early
fifties. After a fifteen-year career
at Molton Brown she embarked on
an enterprise of her own. T London
is a line of bath, body and home
fragrance products. The products,
inspired by the exotic tea blends
Darjeeling, Dimbula and Yerba
Mate launched in the London
Liverpool Street Andaz Hotel and
are now available online and in select
branches of Fenwick.
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
T London, Jayne Kethro
Jayne epitomizes the entrepreneur
driven by passion. She had always
loved being creative and was
passionate about travel. The
concept of T London was inspired by
both. She says, “I remember a trip
to Ikal del Mar in Mexico, sipping a
cup of tea overlooking the turquoise
waters of the Riviera Maya, catching
a hint of lime blossom in the air
and thinking ‘If only I could bottle
this’. In that moment, the seed of T
London was sown.”
56
 “I DON’T THINK WE REALLY LOOK AT OR PAY
ATTENTION TO WOMEN AS THEY AGE. YOU HEAR
THAT IN HOLLYWOOD, YOU HEAR THAT IN BUSINESS,
YOU HEAR THAT FROM WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN
IN CORPORATE JOBS AND EITHER GET PHASED
OUT OR FIRED OR LEAVE. THE NEXT THING THEY
CREATE IS THEIR OWN BUSINESS BECAUSE THAT’S
THE ONLY JOB THEY COULD GET.”
Rachel Scherl

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 57
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Rebalance the workforce. Make room for older women
by proactively helping them back to work. Consider flexible
working options that fit their busy lives.
02.
Reappraise the skillsets learned over an extended career break.
For instance, managing the needs of a family of five will translate
to valuable project management skills.
03.
Support women’s ambitions as entrepreneurs. Don’t write
them off as ‘past-it,’ they are a driving force behind modern
entrepreneurship.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 58
Quadra development, London Fields by Hill & Hanover

THE
NEW URBANITES

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 59
 Gousto
THE
NEW URBANITES
Instead of slowing down and opting for a quiet country life,
Elastic women are opting for the buzz of city life.

These days, hipsters are finding they have
competition for those bijou lofts and
apartments in cool urban districts. The
Elastic Generation is “downsizing” to the
city to optimize their time and access
amenities.
Reflecting a global trend noted in cities
from New York and Toronto to Cape Town,
the number of people over the age of 65
who moved back to London increased by
8% in 2015 compared to 2012.62 50- to
60-year-olds accounted for 14.8% of
buyers in prime central London properties
in 2017 it’s up to 28.5%.63
In London’s vibrant Hackney district, Hill
and Hanover are marketing the Quadra
development of one and two bedroom
apartments exclusively to the over 55s. In
nearby Shoreditch, the Long and Waterson
development of lofts, apartments and
penthouses is attracting older buyers. In
Edinburgh, downsizers make up around one
third of city center flat buyers, while cities
like York and Plymouth are seeing more
people of pension age move into the city
than out.62
Elastic women (and men) want to be at
the heart of the action, not festering away
in their recliners. 57% told us they are
spending their time now doing the things
they always dreamed of. An appetite
for better amenities, culture, and new
experiences (as well as proximity to loved
ones) is drawing them back to the bright
lights. This generation spends significantly
more money on recreational and cultural
services like theater tickets and sports
game admissions than those under thirty.64

“THE ELASTIC GENERATION DOESN’T WANT TO NECESSARILY BE SHIPPED OUT

TO SOMEWHERE SLEEPY AND BEAUTIFUL. THEY ARE GOING TO WANT TO BE
SOMEWHERE VIBRANT BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL DOING STUFF. THEY WANT TO GO
TO THEATERS AND PLAYS. THEY WANT TO BE PART OF THE MAINSTREAM.” Alex Rotas

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 60
Foodwork, the onstage restaurant for performances of Network at the National Theatre
61
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Serge et le Phoque
Experiences, whether branded or
entertainment-led, have seen a boom
in recent years, yet very few concepts
stray beyond the core millennial
audience. It’s worth remembering that
older audiences are up for experiences
too. The current production of Network
at London’s National Theatre should
prove Elastic catnip. Based on the
much-loved 1976 film, the event
unites both a play and an immersive
dining experience. Audience members
will pay £75 and upwards for a seat in
Foodwork, the on-stage restaurant,
enjoying a three-course meal featuring
such dishes as short rib and ox cheek
bourguignon and gin and tonic sorbet.
With an average theater audience
member aged 52 in the UK, shows
that offer experiential elements will
be able to cut through the clutter and
command a premium with Elastics.65
Tables for Foodwork are already sold
out for the entirety of the show’s run
through to March 2018.
When it comes to eating out, many
of our Elastic women are enthusiasts:
official data shows households aged
50-64 spend an average of £20 a week
on eating out, more than any other age
group.66 It’s not just pub fare either,
46% of women aged 55 to 64 in the
UK like trying new restaurants67 and
those between the age of 50 and 64
are more adventurous in trying hot and
spicy foods than other generations.68
The NPD Group recently encouraged
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
the restaurant trade to tap the “over
50s opportunity,” particularly at
lunchtimes, where visits are up 6% and
spend by 12% since 2008.69
Quality is key for Elastic women, ranking
top in importance when choosing a
restaurant either for everyday eating
or special occasions.70 A comfortable,
relaxed atmosphere in which they can
spend time is obviously appreciated.
Serge et le Phoque, which opened
at the Mandrake Hotel in London in
September offers a low-key space
which prioritizes comfort and sleek
uncluttered table tops. Music is chosen
to build ambiance rather than draw
focus. According to the owners, “The
restaurant is laid out in a way that every
guest gets an intimate yet energizing
experience.”71
With more time devoted to taking
advantage of city life, the new urbanite
has less time to sweat over her oven,
yet 69% of women 55-64 aspire
to cook meals from scratch.72 Meal
subscription services like Gousto, Hello
Fresh and Waitrose’s Cook Well which
are generally marketed to younger
households could also find favor with
Elastic Urbanites. The kits include
everything required to experiment with
new recipes without having to worry
about acquiring lots of new ingredients.
And with so many other demands on
her time, Elastic women will appreciate
the convenience.
62
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Elastic women are painting the town red and should be a prime
target for cultural activities. Museums and theaters as well as
hospitality venues have a key opportunity here.
02.
Extend experiential concepts to include all age groups, not just
millennials – the Experience Economy has multi-generational appeal.
03.
Spending more time out and about means less time to cook.
Target the Elastic woman with new food experiences that are
convenient but don’t compromise on quality.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 63
Amazon Echo Show

BOOMING TECH

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 64

BOOMING TECH
Inclusive and intuitive technology works well for everyone.
Design for the Elastic woman, and you’ve got a crowd-pleaser.
Back in the day, when young Mark
Zuckerberg was even more fresh-faced,
he allegedly told an audience at Stanford
University with a straight face: “I want to
stress the importance of being young and
technical. Young people are just smarter.”73
Alongside all the smart young people, there
are also some fine examples of Elastic
women at the helm of tech businesses:
Rosalind Picard, founder of Affectiva and
Empatica, Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM
and Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX
to name a few.
Despite this, anecdotes abound of women
struggling to find tech jobs, get funding or
even being told they are too old for a start-
up. The myth of the digital native, which
holds that everyone below the age of 35
has an innate mastery of tech, while anyone
older than that is a bumbling incompetent,
remains all-pervasive.
JWT research finds that Elastic women
are sick of the stereotype: 73% hate the
way their generation is patronized when it
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Fitbit
comes to technology. Actually, six out of
ten say they find tech fascinating. Dropbox
reported research that suggests IT workers
over 55 are actually more adept at using
multiple devices and find using technology
in the workplace less stressful than their
younger counterparts.74
George Lee maintains that if there’s slower
uptake, it means design is just not good
enough. “It’s not technology, it’s the design
of it” she says, “I am not prepared to put
73% HATE
the hours in to learn it, it’s a design issue
and a communication issue.”
Many of the women we talked to felt the
same. When they find devices or tools that THE WAY THEIR
do work for them, they can’t imagine life
without them. One panelist told us “my GENERATION IS
iPhone is like my right hand, I was without
it a few months ago for a few weeks and I PATRONIZED
almost felt like I couldn’t function properly
without it. I use it for everything from
WHEN IT
phone calls, emails, social media, camera, COMES TO
banking, surveys, I am totally lost without
it.” And yes, that’s an Elastic talking, not a TECHNOLOGY
teenager.
65
Jointly
There’s an appetite for intuitive devices
and services that fit seamlessly into
Elastic women’s lives as enablers,
helping them manage their time, health
and home and connect with others.
There are opportunities to sell smart
home services, on demand concierge
services, travel planning tools and more.
Wellness and healthcare monitoring
tech should be a shoo-in: JWT research
shows that 67% of women in their
50s and 60s would be interested in
technology that can help them maintain
good health for a longer life.75 Women
we talked to enthused about wearable
fitness trackers: “my Jawbone UP
MOVE is always with me, both indoors
and outdoors,” said one. Proactive
health apps like Babylon Health and
Push Doctor could also find a ready
audience among Elastic women.
We also see voice technology as rich
territory for Elastic women in the
future, many of whom confess to
finding smartphone screens too fiddly
and small for going online. JWT’s report
Speak Easy found that the over 55s
who regularly use voice technology
love it for its intuitiveness and are
disproportionately motivated by its
convenience (83% agree vs 55% on
average) and simplicity (78% agree,
versus 52% on average).76 According
to Slice, Baby Boomers made up 31%
of Amazon Echo purchases in the two
years from January 2015.77
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
In many instances voice technology
can save steps, a blessing for time-
pressed Elastics. As artist Sand
Laurenson explained, “Many women
do not have time to smell the roses,
let alone plant them and stare at them
lovingly every day in a blissful setting.”
Tools and services that can save time
or help women manage it better will be
welcomed.
Jointly is one such tool, an app built with
the sandwich generation in mind (those
who care for both older and younger
relatives). Created by Carers UK, it
is described as “a tool to help families
manage care for loved ones alongside
increasingly complex lives.” Across
the UK there are 6.5 million carers:
half juggling care with work and a third
caring for older relatives alongside
raising children.78 Jointly offers a simple,
practical way to share information and
co-ordinate tasks amongst an invited
circle who are helping look after a loved
one. In the US, family concierge style
apps like Envoy are also taking off.
And designing technology with an
older user in mind, with less time or
motivation to master it, means better
tech for everyone. As George Lee says:
“No-one is going to complain about
technology which is more intuitive.”
66
 MORE THAN HALF OF UK WOMEN
OVER 50 BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN
EMPOWERED BY TECHNOLOGY.79
Margaret Hamilton was the lead software developer for NASA’s Apollo Moon
missions in the 1960s. Shown here with a stack of paper containing the software
used for the mission, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
2016 for her work. Not only did her contributions lead to advancements in space
travel but also her work helped to challenge negative conceptions of women in
science. She is credited for helping to open the door to more women entering
STEM fields.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 67
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Forget the digital native myth – these women were
there in tech’s infancy too.
02.
Create technology that is simple and intuitive
– everyone will thank you for it.
03.
Design tech solutions that save time, boost
convenience or solve problems for Elastic women
and they will adopt them with enthusiasm.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 68
 LIVING
P U R P O S E F U L LY

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 69

LIVING
P U R P O S E F U L LY
Elastic women are harnessing their time and skills to give something
back, gaining a sense of purpose and empowerment in return.
While retirement is no longer the black
and white proposition it once was, most
women in the upper end of our sample
(aged 63-72) have retired or are
planning to do so. Retirement frees up
time to spend with family, to travel and
to learn new things. Yet it can also leave
many missing a sense of purpose (30%)
and needing to feel useful (also 30%).
Something older women share with
their millennial and gen Z counterparts
is the desire to give something back.
Our Women’s Index revealed that more
than half of women over 50 believe
it is important to work to improve
their community or the world around
them.80 Almost a quarter of Elastic
women are already planning on actively
volunteering in later life; once women
have retired this rises to 28%. Data
from NCVO shows that women aged
65-74 are the second most likely age
group to volunteer, second only to
women aged 16-24.81
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
Parkrun UK
At Parkrun UK for example, older
volunteers contribute their time
disproportionately compared with
participation, with 22% aged over 55.
This age group is also more likely to
volunteer throughout the year for the
charity.82
Sometimes described as “the helper’s
high,” volunteering can deliver a
sense of empowerment. According to
Stephen Post, professor at Stony Brook
University, volunteering is so good for
one’s health that it should be prescribed
by healthcare professionals as a way
to improve both mental and physical
health.83
Volunteering also provides an
opportunity to engage socially. We
found that Elastic women value the
friendships they make at work: 36%
say they will miss them when they
leave, versus just 22% of men, so
volunteering is a great way for them to
build friendships and maintain an active
social life.
70
Projects Abroad
It’s also a good way to put their work and
life skills to use. Lisa Brown, 65, a retired
financial controller, now volunteers for a
local charity that helps children. Speaking
about her experience to us she said, “When
I retired I wanted to give back. I felt the
best way to do that would be to use my
computer and other organizational skills
that I learned throughout my career to help
a nonprofit organization for children. That
would be the way I could have the most
impact on improving my community and
be most rewarding to me.”
Some organizations are building programs
that tap women’s desires to put their
working skills to use after retirement. In
Autumn 2016, Nesta and the Department
for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
launched the Second Half Fund.84 The
fund is currently supporting 13 ambitious
innovations to grow their work to reach
many more people, through mobilizing the
time and talents of hundreds of people
aged 50+, alongside public services. These
initiatives fall into four categories, children
and young people, parents and families,
ageing well, and resourceful and resilient
places.
In a society where generations are
frequently pitted against each other,
volunteering can bridge divisions and
allow young and old to benefit from
shared interactions. The Generation to
Generation campaign from Encore.org in
the US acknowledges the importance of
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
intergenerational support, encouraging
older people to pass on their wisdom and
learning by mentoring younger members
of their own communities.85 Currently,
the program is focused on literacy, with
participants helping children with reading
as well as raising money for book donations.
It also recently awarded two $50,000
Encore Prizes to organizations finding
creative ways to leverage experienced
talent to help pass on their skills to young
people.
Charity doesn’t always begin at home.
In recent years we have seen the rise of
the ‘grey gap years’ and many women are
choosing to spend their time overseas
doing something positive. Projects Abroad,
a UK-based charity, sends older volunteers
abroad to work in needy areas around the
world through their Grown-up Specials
program. Elastics can learn new skills as
well as experience different cultures in
an immersive way all while doing good for
those in need.
Women that want to make a difference
also have high expectations of brands. JWT
SONARTM research into brand motivations
found that among women 50-64, just
under three-quarters (73%) say they prefer
to buy brands that are doing something to
make the world a better place. 62% say it’s
important to them what brands do in the
world, beyond just selling their products
and services.86
71
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Provide opportunities for Elastic women to get
involved in purposeful projects.
02.
Consider intergenerational initiatives – a mutually
beneficial way to give support to communities.
03.
Communicate what you are doing to make a
difference, in communities or around the world.
Elastic women care about what’s behind the brand.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 72
M&S ‘Spend it Well’ campaign

A BETTER
CONVERSATION

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 73
A BETTER
CONVERSATION
Brands should forget targeting women by age. This is a complex, non-
heterogeneous group that is primarily driven by their values and passions.
Once women reach their fifties, they told
us, they start to feel a little bit ‘invisible’.
They rarely see women like themselves on
TV or in films. Some told us they play a game
of ‘spot the older woman’ in advertising. In
short, they’ve concluded that brands aren’t
interested in them: 67% say advertisers
only care about young people.
When brands do reach out, the picture
they often paint of Elastic women
is unrecognizable. At best, it’s the
globetrotting silver-haired, empty nester,
frolicking on beaches and gazing wistfully
from the deck of a cruise liner. At worst,
the narrative is one of decline, illness and
frailty featuring comfy waistbands and
walk-in baths. Artist Sand Laurenson
explained, “When I see advertising for
older people, it’s as if [..] we’re finished.
Caring for others, doing a will, getting life
insurance, a stair lift.”
This doesn’t resonate: eight out of ten
women don’t recognize their lives in the
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
products and services that target them. The
two words they choose that best represent
advertising aimed at them? Patronizing
and stereotyped. Our latest wave of data
shows that little has changed since we first
investigated attitudes in 2014.
This is not about upping the diversity
quotient, this is a compelling business
opportunity. These women are decision-
makers. And they make up the foundations
of the UK’s most dominant consumer
force today. We can do better – but how?
In recent years, some brands, predominantly
in fashion and beauty, have started to adopt
older women as ambassadors or feature
them in ad campaigns. Many women
respond positively to this: “I like to see older
women represented,” said one, “Personally
I’m more likely to consider the brand that
used the older model” said another. After
decades of invisibility, a little representation
feels good.
74
M&S ‘Spend it Well’ campaign
Yet welcoming Elastic women to your brand is a
commitment that should run through the entire
brand experience, not just in advertising. Every
touchpoint on the customer journey – from
in-store, customer service to digital channels –
should deliver a consistent experience. Brands
should also not shy away from engaging Elastic
women through digital channels. As many of
our trends demonstrate, the belief that these
women are not adept users of technology is
misplaced.
In turn, harnessing data to better understand
values and passions will become increasingly
key as a tool to drive conversation. While we
are increasingly a market of individuals, data
can also help identify the tastes, attitudes
and mindsets that unite audiences, enabling
brands to drive better conversations. This is
what helped Netflix’s vice president of product
innovation, Todd Yellin, realize that “there are
19-year-old guys who watch Dance Moms and
73-year-old women who are watching Breaking
Bad and Avengers.”87 Brands must connect,
engaging audiences on what they truly care
about, not simply communicate with them.
Improving the age balance in agencies could
be helpful too. George Lee has proposed
cross-generational creative teams to ensure
a more inclusive approach. And ad industry
luminary Robin Wight recently told the Mature
Marketing Conference that agencies should
involve more ‘late radicals’ like himself in
creating campaigns.88
In the long-term, Lee believes that brands
should focus squarely on what unites
E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T
generations, rather than what divides them:
“It’s not about thinking of it as a tick box
exercise for old and young, it’s thinking of it as
more age-neutral and what is it that all of us are
fundamentally looking for. […] There’s a massive
business opportunity there.”
Marketing to people based purely on their age
is getting less and less viable as a strategy. As
Lee explains: “Our age does not define us at
any age. Those marketing briefs that we all get
‘this is for ABC1 men’ once did us very well, but
now they are redundant.”
A progressive approach takes women’s attitudes
and values into consideration and talks to
audiences about what matters to them. Marks
& Spencer’s recent ‘Spend it Well’ campaign
depicts women of all ages who share a belief
that life is about the experiences, people and
things that make life special. The strategy not
only aligns food and clothing under the same
banner, it is reportedly being used throughout
the business to influence products and services,
innovation and company culture.
A 55-year-old woman might be a grandmother
or a new mother, a college leaver or an
entrepreneur, a wild motorcyclist or a multi-
marathon runner. Her lifestyle is not governed
by her age, but by her values and the things
she cares about; her passions, ambitions and
goals. So let’s ditch the tired stereotypes and
start connecting. An incredible 91% of Elastic
women say they wish advertisers would treat
their generation like people. It’s time to take age
out of the equation.
75
Levi’s ‘Circles’ campaign

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 76
 WHAT IT MEANS:
01.
Age is no longer a useful indicator of how older women
are living. Think beyond the demographics and find out what
drives them and why.
02.
Many women like to see older faces in brand communications,
but ensure that depictions are authentic and that all customer
touchpoints reflect the same attitude.
03.
Ditch the outdated stereotypes and harness data to drive
deeper, better, more personal engagement.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 77
 METHODOLOGY
‘Elastic Generation: The Female Edit’ is a macro trend report that focuses on British women
aged 53-72. It follows on from our original research that was published in 2015. Our research
comprised several methodologies and covered the period May 2017 to December 2017.

In addition to extensive desk research, we conducted a quantitative survey using SONAR™,

J. Walter Thompson’s proprietary online tool. In May 2017, we surveyed 248 women aged
53-72 in the UK. We also surveyed 276 men for comparison.

We also used data from the JWT Women’s Index Study, a global quantitative survey speaking
to a nationally representative sample of women aged 17-70 years. The research covered 19
countries but for the purpose of this report we’ve just used UK data.

Additionally 24 UK respondents took part in a week-long online community answering

questions about their own behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles.

Finally, we conducted in-depth interviews with experts and influencers across sectors
including beauty, fashion, wellness, and art.

Please note that all data was correct and up to date at the time of writing in December 2017.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 78
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Profound thanks to our fantastic experts who shaped our insights and trends with their valuable contributions.
Additional thanks to Eleanor Lakelin, Sand Laurenson, the Profanity Embroidery Group and Tate on behalf of
Lubaina Himid, for sharing their creative work with us for this report.

• Alex Rotas: Photographer and author of upcoming book Growing Old Competitively www.alexrotasphotography.co.uk
• Annie Taylor: Co-founder of the Profanity Embroidery Group www.facebook.com/profanityembroiderygroup
• Eleanor Lakelin: Maker in Wood eleanorlakelin.com
• George Lee: Co-founder Age of No Retirement www.ageofnoretirement.org
• Jayne Kethro: Co-founder of T London www.t-london.com/being-british
• Joanne Francis: Creative Director and co-owner of The Portsmouth Brewery and Smuttynose Brewing Company www.portsmouthbrewery.com
• Mikella Lowe: Editor and Creative Director at Renaissance Magazine, www.renaissance-magazine.com
• Nayna McIntosh: Founder & CEO of Hope www.hopefashion.co.uk
• Nikki Love: Marathon runner nikkilove.co.uk
• Peter Mangan: Founder and CEO of The Freebird Club www.freebirdclub.com
• Profanity Embroidery Group www.facebook.com/profanityembroiderygroup
• Rachel Scherl: Co-Founder and Principal SPARK Solutions for Growth rbscherl@sparksolutionsforgrowth.com
• Sand Laurenson MA(RA) Artist www.sandlaurenson.com
• Tricia Cusden: Founder and Chief Executive of Look Fabulous Forever www.lookfabulousforever.com

Thanks also go to our fabulous JWT colleagues, who generously contributed their time and skills.
Dee Harrop | Diana Orrico | Johanna Doyle | Katie Knott | Lucie Greene | Marcella Palermo | Marius Bartsch | Mark Truss | Mary Cass | Neil Godber |
Nick Tsolkas | Noel Bussey | Rachel Pashley

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 79
 FOOTNOTES
Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, “The Economic Impact of the Silver Pound”,
1 29
MailOnline, “Yes you can have an AbFab menopause, Sweetie!”, 58
Workingmums, “Fidelity New Horizons – Client Services Programme –
May 2017 updated November 2017, http://bit.ly/2zb9IZ2 November 19, 2017, http://dailym.ai/2jzv3GI 26 weeks, starting January 2018”, October 9, 2017, http://bit.ly/2gObOos
2
Office for National Statistics, “Detailed household expenditure by 30
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016 59
Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, “The Economic Impact of the Silver Pound”,
age of household reference person, UK: Table A11”, February 16, 2017, The Nooky Box, “Introducing The Signature Menopause Box,”
31 May 2017 updated November 2017, http://bit.ly/2zb9IZ2
http://bit.ly/2yZcAH6 http://bit.ly/2yE23CJ 60
The Guardian, “Meet the women launching startups in their 50s: ‘I took
3
Property Week, “More than fifty shades of grey: retailers capitalise on 32
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016 a deep breath and jumped’”, August 28, 2017, http://bit.ly/2vlCTsi
the grey pound”, February 23, 2017, http://bit.ly/2zuEI3H 33
National Statistics, “Birth characteristics, England and Wales 2016”,
61
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016
4
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The Telegraph, “Revealed: the biggest downsizing hotspots in the UK”,
expense of baby boomers”, October 3, 2016, http://bit.ly/2gxRaZb 34
Elder, “Challenging Stereotypes Around Ageing: Alex Rotas, November 8, 2016, http://bit.ly/2fuZbwl
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016
5 
Photographer”, http://bit.ly/2yKNux2 63
Financial Times, “Where to move if you want to downsize: country versus city”,
6
Grandparents Plus, “1m working mothers relying on grandparents to help 35
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016 Jun 23, 2017, http://on.ft.com/2k7knix
with childcare”, July 10, 2017, http://bit.ly/2iqKwIa 36
The Telegraph, “Is business ready for a silver world”, Undated,
64
The ONS, “Detailed household expenditure by age of household reference
SAGA, “Bank of Gran & Grandad deposits over £37bn to help grandchildren”,
7
accessed 13 Dec 2017, http://bit.ly/2o0BG6r person, Table A11, UK, financial year ending 2016” Febuary 16, 2017,
August 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2gDtnuD 37
Parkrun UK, official data reported in email received October 24, 2017 http://bit.ly/2yZcAH6
8
JWTIntelligence, “Frontier(less) Retail”, June 2016 38
The Telegraph, “How I kept my ballerina body... aged 54,” May 20, 2017,
65
The Stage, “Audience Agency data shows ageing demographic of theatregoers”,
9
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016 http://bit.ly/2yGhWZe May 16, 2016, http://bit.ly/2nUdW2P
10
The Telegraph, “Silver Singles: Why your 50’s is the best time to be on 39
New York Times, “Why Our Champions Are Getting Older,” March 3, 2017,
66
The ONS, “Detailed household expenditure by age of household reference
your own”, December 6, 2016, http://bit.ly/2hhjj4T http://nyti.ms/2ls9t6U person, Table A11, UK, financial year ending 2016”Febuary 16, 2017,
11
The Telegraph, “Rise of ‘silver singles’ after hike in divorce rates in 70s http://bit.ly/2yZcAH6
40
Sport England, “Active People Interactive”, http://bit.ly/2yNpyGN
put them off marriage”, April 30, 2017, http://bit.ly/2pinSmg
67
Mintel, “Lifestyles of the Over-55s”, February 2016
Vogue, “The 5 Golden Rules of Athleisure: Is It Really Acceptable to Wear
41
12
Refinery29, “Meet The Older Women Staying Single (& Loving It)”, Yoga Pants All Day Long?”, January 7, 2016, http://bit.ly/2hyUdjW
68
The Caterer, “Spices spell magic”, January 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/2zflKy2
February 10, 2017, http://bit.ly/2zjhFwH 42
SAGA, “Intrepid over 50s now account for 58% of travel spending”,
69
The Caterer, “Over 50s driving lunch trade with over one billion visits a year”,
13
Manchester Evening News, “Single over-50’s help specialist holiday September 27, 2016, http://bit.ly/2jgPQOL September 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2mhuCS8
operator Solitair grow record sales”, August 29, 2017, http://bit.ly/2gvDZrJ 43
Manchester Evening News, “Single over-50’s help specialist holiday operator
70
Mintel Reports, “Eating Out – The Decision Making Process”, July 2017
14
The Yorkshire Post, “Over-50s daters are boosting economy by £664m Solitair grow record sales”, August 29, 2017, http://bit.ly/2gvDZrJ
71
Forbes, “Chatting With The Brains Behind London’s Coolest New Restaurant
as ‘silver singles’ look for love”, October 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2j0CWld 44
Festival Insights, “The UK Festival Market Report 2017,” July 19, 2017, Serge et le Phoque”, September 20, 2017, http://bit.ly/2AQK6Qu
15
The Telegraph, “Silver Singles: Why your 50’s is the best time to be on http://bit.ly/2hjH5PP
72
Mintel, “Lifestyles of the Over-55s”, February 2016
your own”, December 6, 2016, http://bit.ly/2hhjj4T 45
The Telegraph, “The rise of the silver bikers: ‘I feel like a teenager again’”,
73
Forbes, “Is Silicon Valley Ageist Or Just Smart?”, February 14, 2015,
16
The Guardian, “Original supermodels assemble for catwalk tribute to July 22, 2015, http://bit.ly/1CUDAa0 http://bit.ly/2z7CslG
Gianni Versace”, September 22, 2017, http://bit.ly/2yxi8dC 46
The Daily Mail, “Why we love going topless: The wind in your hair. The
74
Dropbox Business, “What it takes to be happy and creative at work”
17
Office for National Statistics, “Detailed household expenditure by age feeling that after years of slog you deserve it. Suddenly women of a certain June 8, 2016, http://bit.ly/2AH9aMu
of household reference person, UK: Table A11”, February 16, 2017, age are splashing their cash on sporty convertibles.” June 1, 2017, 75 
JWTIntelligence, “Control Shift”, 2016
http://bit.ly/2yZcAH6 http://dailym.ai/2rDhyY8 76
JWTIntelligence, “Speak Easy”, April 2017
18
midlifechic, “Inès de La Fressange at Uniqlo Spring 17 launch”, 47
Kent Online, “Filthy sew and sews... meet Whitstable’s swearing embroidery 77
Musically, “Analyst: ‘Amazon Echo Has Broken Into The Mainstream’”,
February 2, 2017, http://bit.ly/2zntKwK group at the Fishslab Gallery”, February 14, 2016, http://bit.ly/1SOfuot January 26, 2017, http://bit.ly/2Bx5pqg
19
Renaissance Magazine Media Kit, 2017 48
love secrets and, “About the Secrets Quilt”, http://bit.ly/2iBmwlY 78
Cause, “Carers UK launches Jointly – the app for families caring for loved one”,
20
Winser London, “Kim Winser is interviewed about her luxury 49
The Daily Telegraph, “Turner Prize abolishes age limit and embraces the January 29, 2014, http://bit.ly/2z7Z99q
womenswear business”, http://bit.ly/2z4cOyr Not So Young British Artists”, March 29, 2017, http://bit.ly/2nRQO4h 79
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016
21
The Telegraph, “Over-50s women spent most on make-up”, April 15, 2015, 50
David W. Galenson, “Creative Life Cycles: Three Myths”, Becker Friedman 80
JWT Female Tribes, “Women’s Index Study”, 2016
http://bit.ly/1FWOgW1 Institute for Research in Economics Working Paper No. 2016-28, December 21, 81
NCVO, “UK Civil Society Almanac 2017/ Volunteer Profiles”,
22
The Guardian, “Changing faces: three women making their mark on the 2016, http://bit.ly/2xR0gX6 http://bit.ly/2zobSGa
beauty market”, September 3, 2017, http://bit.ly/2wAShhX The Globe and Mail, “The potential benefits of mental distractions for
51
82
Parkrun UK, official data reported in email received October 24, 2017
23
The Telegraph, “Helen Mirren has declared the ‘anti-ageing’ era over, the aging brain”, December 16, 2016, https://tgam.ca/2zzZPCB 83
American Journal of Health Promotion, “Rx It’s Good to be Good (G2BG) 2017
so what’s next for skincare?”, August 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2fJaA05 52
Age UK, “Being ‘creative’ and ‘open’ boosts wellbeing in later life,” Commentary: Prescribing Volunteerism for Health, Happiness, Resilience, and
24
W Magazine, “How Lyn Slater Became an “Accidental” Style Icon at February 8, 2017, http://bit.ly/2yyHfMv Longevity”, 2017, Vol. 31(2) 163-172, http://bit.ly/2ufJIHg
the Age of 64”, July 6, 2017, http://bit.ly/2sNz9i7 53
Zenger Folkman, “A Study in Leadership: Women do it Better than Men”, 84
Nesta, “Second Half Fund: sharing time and talents for life”,
25
dataIQ, “Millennial obsession testing the loyalty of baby boomers,” http://bit.ly/2z6EbcG http://bit.ly/2AcZ3OF
January 25, 2017, http://bit.ly/2z7Ov4c 54
BBC, “The women still working into their 70s”, March 22, 2017, 85
Generation to Generation, “About Generation to Generation”
26
ARF Ogilvy Awards, “Garnet Hill: Beautiful, Naturally Mobile Studio”, http://bbc.in/2mPwXi0 http://bit.ly/2xdYRuh (Learn more at www.iamgen2gen.org)
2017, http://bit.ly/2B7lmmM 55
The Financial Times, “Over-50s are the new business start-up generation”, 86 
J Walter Thompson SONARTM , Brand Motivation Study, 2016
27
The British Menopause Society, “More than half of women feel negative about February 16, 2017, http://on.ft.com/2ghNjPz 87 
Campaign, “The millennial dilemma: generation, mindset or irrelevance?”,
their experience of the menopause”, October 18, 2017, http://bit.ly/2mtsvdU 56
“How Hard Can it Be?”, Allison Pearson, published by The Borough Press, February 29, 2016, http://bit.ly/2C1aYgi
28
Channel 5 News, “Menopause: Breaking the Taboo”, October 17, 2017, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017 88
rhc advantage, “A Review of the 2017 Mature Marketing Summit. Marketing’s
http://bit.ly/2znWfdV 57
Workingmums, “O2 launches second returner programme”, inconvenient truth?”, http://bit.ly/2m9suse
June 16, 2017, http://bit.ly/2kXFbJe

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 80
White Hot Hair

“OUR AGE DOES NOT DEFINE US.

AT ANY AGE.”
George Lee

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 81
ABOUT US
ABOUT CONTACT
THE INNOVATION GROUP
Marie Stafford
The Innovation Group is J. Walter Thompson’s futurism, research and innovation European Director, The Innovation Group,
unit. It charts emerging and future global trends, consumer change, and innovation J. Walter Thompson
patterns—translating these into insight for brands. It offers a suite of consultancy marie.stafford@jwt.com
services, including bespoke research, presentations, co-branded reports and @marie19a
workshops. It is also active in innovation, partnering with brands to activate future
Author
trends within their framework and execute new products and concepts.
Marie Stafford

Report Contributors
ABOUT Sarah Tilley
J. WALTER THOMPSON INTELLIGENCE Jade Perry
Ella Britton
The Innovation Group is part of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, a platform for
global research, innovation and data analytics at J. Walter Thompson Company,
housing three key in-house practices: SONAR™, Analytics and the Innovation
Group. SONAR™ is J. Walter Thompson’s research unit that develops and exploits
new quantitative and qualitative research techniques to understand cultures, brands
and consumer motivation around the world. Analytics focuses on the innovative
application of data and technology to inform and inspire new marketing solutions. It
offers a suite of bespoke analytics tools.

E L A S T I C G E N E R AT I O N T H E F E M A L E E D I T 82