Grandchildren’s Day (Mago no Hi) was on 20 October this year, and is a date when grandparents may officially shower gifts upon their children’s children. However, you can’t have grandkids without grandparents, so a unique fashion event was held two days prior, bringing together models from both these generations, and aimed to celebrate and bring out the beauty in their relationship.

■ Connecting three generations through fashion

The event was held at Meiji Jingu Sanshu Hall on 18 October by the Association for Three Generation Lifestyle Cultural Research. It consisted of two segments, the first being a symposium with designer Hanae Mori and her granddaughter, model Izumi Mori. The second part was the fashion show featuring grandmother-generation models walking the runway alongside “granddaughter” models.

■ Expressing the beauty of aging

One thing that became apparent when the models young and old accompanied each other down the runway: The “grandma” models carried themselves with a truly unique walk full of confidence and personality. There was a visceral sense of these people living a life full of experience causing them to exude character.

Also, as each pair of models took the stage, photos of the “grandmas” when they were younger were projected onto screens behind them as if to show you where they came from to get here. While the younger models had all the measurements to model, it was their seniors that caught and held the audience’s attention.

■ The interplay of generations through fashion

In spite of the spotlight being on the older generation of women, this fashion show is a little different in concept to the photo shoot we presented last month by L’ideal which highlighted an empowering group of senior women by showing off their own high sense of style.

This time we see the “grandma” and “granddaughter” models wearing matching outfits, almost identical except for subtle changes to the patterns and accessories. It’s as if the granddaughter approached her grandmother and said “Let’s dress up the same!” Then, as they walk together the grandma does so with an elegant pride at how beautiful her grandchild has become.

It’s a touching sentiment for a fashion show and one that reminds us that our time as grandchildren is very limited.

Original Article and Photos by Felix Sayaka

▼ There was also a grandad to get on the runway

[ Read in Japanese ]