First-time filmmaker Lina Plioplyte discusses her new documentary Advanced Style, which examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers – aged 62 to 95 – whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to fabulous aging.
She’s joined in the interview with Ari Seth Cohen, who created the blog Advanced Style, the basis for the film. Ari began meeting fabulous older women on the streets of New York when he moved to the city from Seattle in 2008, and started photographing and interviewing them as a personal project.
He says he soon realized that these extraordinary women had “the power to change our perceptions of aging,” to show that elderly women never have to stop dressing up and being creative, no matter what age they are.
“Once the blog started to take off, casting directors would approach me wanting these different women in campaigns,” Ari said about the commercial opportunities given to some of his subjects.
He specifically cites the case of Debra Rapoport, who booked a high-profile fashion campaign for Kmart in her late 60s. Ari said casting directors for the campaign were seeking “real people with a unique sense of style,” and he immediately thought of Debra, who he says “is having a blast with all of this.”
He adds that Debra can be a great inspiration to other similar women who can do unbelievable things no matter what their age. “I think it is important for them to do these things and show that just because you’re 80 years old, you don’t have to sit in a rocking chair and die.”
Lina adds: “But they are totally riding the fame wave, oh my God they are. We had screenings in New York and they showed up every single one of them, they love each other, each other’s outfits, it’s just this whole big thing.”
Watch the full episode to learn more about Advanced Style and its amazing cast of characters, and to also hear the filmmakers deal with the issue of America’s elderly retreating in loneliness in nursing homes across the nation.
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