The Silver Runway Experience highlights an different demographic in upcoming fashion show
Models and founder of Heartland International Fashion Week pose for past fashion show. // Courtesy HIFW
Confidence, style, and perseverance have no age limit. Contrary to what we may see in modern media, our lives do not end when a certain birthday passes. We keep marching forward, maybe with a few more aching joints, but forward nonetheless. Our older generations have faded from view, but Bosede Iyewarun of Heartland International Fashion Week aims to put them back in the spotlight with their first-ever Silver Runway Experience on Dec. 12.
Iyewarun, founder and CEO of HIFW, started out as an independent, well-regarded jewelry maker for KC Fashion Week. Self-taught, self-made, and with no brick-and-mortar store to sell from, Iyewarun had to limit how many models wore her jewelry on the catwalk because double the number of people she could handle on her own would apply for her specifically. When other designers wanted to be part of her journey too, she realized she could go bigger. In 2019, Heartland International Fashion Week was born.
Bosede Iyewarun // Courtesy HIFW
“One thing I’ve noticed in Kansas City is that runway shows pop up everywhere. It’s like, “Oh, there’s another fashion show. Oh, there’s another one. Oh, there’s three of them in one day,”” Iyewarun says. “You don’t know which one to go to. What’s the cause? What is the purpose? What is the vision? What is the goal? When you’re done with this show, how many lives are you gonna touch and impact, and who are you giving back to?” One thing that Iyewarun has noticed about fashion and runways over her career is the confidence boost that the people involved gain. The Silver Runway Experience’s theme, ‘People, Purpose, Fashion Beyond 50,’ succinctly answers her own questions about other shows.
“Just because you’re 50 years old doesn’t mean you’re no longer relevant,” Iyewarun continues. “We’re not asking people to disappear because they’ve reached a certain age. There is style, there is purpose. They still have dreams; they are creatives. That’s the goal of it.”
Iyewarun wants the children and grandchildren of the models for this runway to look at their relatives differently. She wants them to see their older loved ones in a new light, to be reminded that their grandma’s still got it. Theresa Pittman, who has modeled for eight years since she turned 50 and has walked HIFW three times, is more than excited to walk a runway focused on mature models.
Pittman in past fashion show. // Courtesy HIFW
“Even in our fifties and beyond, we can build community around fashion,” Pittman says. “We can still help each other out in our twilight years. Fashion is just as important for us as it is for young people, and to be a part of that and to help designers is my way of volunteering. I’m interested in fashion, and I enjoy modeling, so it’s a way for me to volunteer my time for people to build their businesses.” She emphasized that people in their fifties, sixties, and seventies are vibrant and thriving in this modern age, and they want to be included.
The excitement for the Silver Runway Experience has also influenced the designers for this catwalk. J. Faulk of JFAULKHATS has designed and produced original hats for over three decades in New York. After noticing his biggest market was in the Midwest, Faulk moved to Kansas City a year ago in hopes of getting local and seeing what the city had to offer. After selling a hat at The Missing Piece in Crown Center, word of mouth led him to apply to design for Heartland International Fashion Week. Iyewarun had one request: she didn’t want the designers dressing the models like senior citizens, but like any other stylish person.
“I’m gonna create a few special pieces,” Faulk teased. “However, I feel like all my pieces are special. They can go from a young crowd to an older crowd. It’s gonna be what I’ve always done: produce good quality pieces that people love.” Faulk said it’s all about the joy his pieces bring to customers for him. People who would normally claim they’re not “hat people” fall in love with his wearable art pieces.
Example work of JFAULKHATS // Courtesy HIFW
“It’s a very joyous thing to be 50-plus,” Faulk continues. “It really is. The things you’ve seen, the things you could provide to people. Being a part of the Silver Runway Experience puts me in front of so many people, so I say stay strong, be positive, be original, and never grow out of it.”
Iyewarun wants the people of Kansas City to see something completely different and give our older residents a little hope during the holiday season.
“If you’re not under a rock, you’ll notice that mental health has become something crazy. You will notice that people, especially during the holidays, are more depressed because there’s no one around them,” she says. Many older people may have lost a spouse, or their children and other friends are away from home during that time of year. “There’s nothing to do. They feel down on themselves; they feel less than. And what better way than to bring an event like this right around the holidays, when families and friends can get together? People have an opportunity to get out of their heads a little bit, and see in themselves what they didn’t even realize they had.”
Gray hair and crow’s feet should not be covered up or hidden. These parts of us prove we have lived a life worth sticking around for. Every wrinkle tells a story about a time we laughed, cried, or got angry. The whole point of life is to live it, and not be ashamed to embrace what it makes of us.
The Silver Runway Experience will be held at The Mint in Lenexa, KS, on Dec. 12. Tickets are available for purchase now.
