{"id":1807,"date":"2024-10-21T04:51:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T04:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/?p=1807"},"modified":"2024-10-21T04:59:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T04:59:30","slug":"maggie-smiths-face-something-secret-teach-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/?p=1807","title":{"rendered":"Maggie Smith\u2019s Face Has Something SECRET to Teach Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"css-11fsypc euiyums1\">\n<div class=\"css-1vkm6nb ehdk2mb0\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/10\/10\/fashion\/07MAGGIE-SMITH-FACE-hctg\/07MAGGIE-SMITH-FACE-hctg-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" alt=\"Maggie Smith smiles. She holds her clasped hands to her face. She has white-grey hair and wears no make up.\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-qznc1j\">\n<div class=\"css-1q4bl9o\">\n<div class=\"css-1von7hd\">\n<div class=\"css-b8gc4a\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-3xqm5e\">We see so few truly old faces in the media, especially old <em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">women\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0faces.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But occasionally, they are celebrated. In October 2023, at the age of 88, Dame Maggie Smith \u2014\u00a0who died on Sept. 27\u00a0\u2014 starred in an arresting\u00a0ad campaign for the luxury brand Loewe, photographed by Juergen Teller. The images they made together are some of the last glimpses we\u2019ll ever have of Ms. Smith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The power of these photos derives partly from their now elegiac quality. But greater power lies in what the photos have to say about life and death, fashion and time, even the planet itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There\u2019s been a slight uptick of\u00a0older women\u00a0appearing in fashion shoots lately.\u00a0Isabelle Huppert, 70, sometimes represents Balenciaga; Ali MacGraw modeled Chanel watches at 80; Maye Musk (mother of Elon) covered\u00a0Sports Illustrated\u2019s 2022 swimsuit issue at 74; and\u00a0Martha Stewart did likewise last year, at 81.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Those photos were \u201cglamour shots.\u201d The women \u2014 known at least in part for their beauty \u2014 appeared with hair and makeup done, lit in soft-focus, angling their bodies artfully, pouting, flirting, or doing that slightly angry \u201cmodel stare.\u201d The pictures invite us to marvel at how youthful the women \u201cstill look.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In this way, the images suggest that advanced age is to be celebrated only when overcome, subdued, or somehow reversed, shoehorned into conventions created for the very young.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-3\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Loewe photos of Maggie Smith are different.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">First, 88 is not 70, or even 81. That Ms. Smith was well into deep, remarkable old age cannot, and should not, be denied. To attain this age is an accomplishment, a privilege. Mr. Teller\u2019s photos understood and respected this. They honored Ms. Smith\u2019s age. His images captivate with the stark encounter they offer with their subject\u2019s face \u2014 her deeply lined, world-weary, expressive, seemingly makeup-free, magnificent face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While lovely all her life, Ms. Smith was never a \u201cprofessional beauty.\u201d Her physical appearance was not her calling card. Instead, as is the case for most of the best actors, her face was a vehicle for thought or emotion, inviting viewers to look\u00a0<em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">through<\/em>, rather than merely\u00a0<em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">at<\/em>\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Not that one could ignore Ms. Smith\u2019s distinctive features: Her huge, heavy-lidded blue eyes, sculptural jaw and high forehead were instantly recognizable and remained sharp and distinctive until the very end of her life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But it was the eloquence, not the aesthetics, of her face that drew us in. Her features so easily and clearly conveyed wit, intelligence and self-possession. In her many roles, from Miss Jean Brodie to the Dowager Countess of \u201cDownton Abbey,\u201d Ms. Smith barely needed to raise an eyebrow to telegraph concern, withering disdain or twinkling humor. Her face had a balletic mobility that only increased as she aged, apparently untrammeled by surgery or cosmetic intervention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Smith displays some of that facial repertoire in the Loewe photos, where she looks by turns knowing, slightly sardonic or confrontational, and bemused. In each of the three photos, she clutches a different Loewe handbag, These are luxury items, each costing somewhere between about $2,000 and $4,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Loewe is an old European brand, a \u201cheritage house,\u201d as they\u2019re called. Its website boasts of its long history: \u201cFounded in Spain in 1846, we\u2019re approaching 178 years as one of the world\u2019s major luxury houses.\u201d Like many such fashion brands, Loewe highlights its age to convey quality, tradition, expertise, value.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But paradoxically, while fashion companies like Loewe showcase their advanced years as worthy attributes, fashion in general is an extravaganza of youth and newness. It is mainly displayed on the exceedingly young bodies of models. And the objects displayed \u2014 the garments and accessories \u2014 arrive in unstoppable, constantly renewed waves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Fashion is an endless stream of ever-changing, ever more frequent collections with which legions of fashion writers, buyers and influencers must all \u201ckeep up,\u201d some literally circling the globe to keep pace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To be fashionable is to live in a perpetual \u201cnow,\u201d suspended outside of time\u2019s natural progression. This mad cycle has, of course, a financial component, stimulating consumer desire and keeping the industry afloat. But the cost for this is high, and the damage serious.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-7\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In its obsession with youth and newness, fashion, like so much of our culture, encourages us to overvalue one part of the cycle of life \u2014 the beginning \u2014 and to ignore or turn away from the latter part of it \u2014 old age and death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In this way, it contributes to ageism. And because of its overproduction, fashion (despite some valiant attempts at sustainability) is one of the world\u2019s most polluting industries,\u00a0creating vast amounts of landfill\u00a0(yesterday\u2019s discarded clothes) and greenhouse gases that are destroying the Earth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This is a kind of macro-level ageism, a refusal to consider that our planet has a life span too, that it doesn\u2019t exist in an eternal, invincible youth, and that we are actually accelerating its demise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Smith\u2019s beautiful aged face invites us to break free of these limitations, to contemplate and appreciate the full arc of a lifetime, in all its stages, without fear, and without yearning to turn back the clock. Looking again at her face in the Loewe images in these days after her death is like pulling aside a curtain we normally keep drawn. Maggie Smith reminds us that age itself may be the ultimate luxury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We see so few truly old faces in the media, especially old women\u2019s\u00a0faces. But occasionally, they are celebrated. In October 2023, at the age of 88, Dame Maggie Smith \u2014\u00a0who died on Sept. 27\u00a0\u2014 starred in an arresting\u00a0ad campaign for the luxury brand Loewe, photographed by Juergen Teller. The images they made together are some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1.jpg",1024,576,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1.jpg",1024,576,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1.jpg",1024,576,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1.jpg",1024,576,false],"jnews-360x180":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-360x180.jpg",360,180,true],"jnews-750x375":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-750x375.jpg",750,375,true],"jnews-1140x570":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-1024x570.jpg",1024,570,true],"jnews-120x86":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-120x86.jpg",120,86,true],"jnews-350x250":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-350x250.jpg",350,250,true],"jnews-750x536":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-750x536.jpg",750,536,true],"jnews-1140x815":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1.jpg",1024,576,false],"jnews-360x504":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-360x504.jpg",360,504,true],"jnews-75x75":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-75x75.jpg",75,75,true],"jnews-350x350":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-350x350.jpg",350,350,true],"jnews-featured-750":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1-750x422.jpg",750,422,true],"jnews-featured-1140":["https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/maggie-smith-2-1024x576-1.jpg",1024,576,false]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Newssoccer","author_link":"https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a 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