A Fashion Editor Said Supermodel Helena Christensen Was Too Old to Wear a Bustier—and People Aren’t Having It

Helena Christensen is one of the OG supermodels—and, in the minds of many (myself included), one of the most stylish women on the planet.

So it was quite shocking to learn that Alexandra Shulman, the former editor-in-chief of British Vogue, called out Christensen for wearing what Shulman dubbed a "tacky" outfit.

The look in question was from Gigi Hadid's denim-themed twenty-fourth birthday party. Christensen wore a lacy black bustier top with high-waist jeans. Schulman, however, apparently wasn't a fan.

"There comes that point in every woman’s life when, however reluctantly, you have to hand over the fleshpot-at-the-party baton to the next generation," she wrote in her Daily Mail column. She goes on to say that Christensen is typically very stylish, before asking: "So why last week, at the age of 50, did she decide to pitch up at Gigi Hadid’s 24th birthday party in a tacky, black lace bustier?"

The rest of the column is pretty ageist, as Shulman argues that a 50-year-old woman shouldn't be dressing in such a manner.

"There isn’t a guidebook on how brazenly women can dress as the years pass. And neither should there be. Prescriptive rules and formulaic dressing for your age are dull," Shulman continued, seemingly contradicting herself before adding: "We might like to think that 70 is the new 40 and 50 the new 30 but our clothes know the true story. No matter how pert your breasts, how great your legs, how invisible your bingo wings, our clothes simply don’t look the same as we age because they are about the person wearing them, not the items themselves. They are about the people—not just the bodies—that we have become.

"Something you wore at 30 will never look the same on you 20 years later. Clothes don’t lie," she added. "When women’s bodies no longer serve any child-bearing purpose, we find flaunting them disturbing and slightly tragic. I don’t claim that this is fair. But it’s true. This doesn’t mean older women should give up and go into purdah. There’s nothing wrong in wishing to be desirable—it’s just not best achieved wearing a black lace corset in public."

Yeah, I'm going to have to take a hard pass on that mentality. Personally I think Christensen looks great—but it doesn't really matter what my opinion of her look is. Every woman, regardless of her age, should be welcome to dress however she chooses and not have to feel the weight of societal biases in the process. To have another woman in the industry question her choices in this way is a real bummer.

I'm not alone in feeling this way, as a number of people posted online in support of Christensen. The supermodel herself fired back with a hilariously on-point Instagram post. "Let’s continue to elevate and support each other, all you beautiful, smart, fun, sexy, hard working, talented, nurturing women out there ❤️💜 #ooopssheworeabustieragain 😱🤪@camillastaerk @talilennox," she captioned an image of herself wearing yet another bustier.

Fellow super Linda Evangelista responded in the comments, "She should be ashamed of herself. You are a goddess 🙏🏻." Naomi Campbell shared her thoughts too, writing: "She has no right or claims to be writing such a ridiculous article. I’ve known you 30 years and whatever you wear, you wear it well with class and dignity!!”

Actress Julianne Moore added, "U always do, my beautiful friend. ❤️❤️❤️." Current editor-in-chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful chimed in with, "You are BEAUTIFUL inside and out."

There's most certainly a way to critique outfit choices that doesn't employ tired, ageist ideas about what how a woman is supposed to dress. I would have hoped a professional fashion editor would have applied more thoughtfulness to her approach. Still, I'm glad that it's spawned a conversation—and that Christensen's supporters are strong.

Keep doing you, Helena. I, for one, hope you wear bustiers for as long as you love them.