It was quite the takeover. A lively group of older adults in black-and-white T-shirts paraded through Greenbriar Mall in southwest Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, shouting for all to hear:
“I don’t know what you been told; ain’t nobody out here old!”
Shoppers and shopkeepers, surprised and delighted, looked on as the group continued their energetic procession through the mall while shouting a second slogan: “Seniors on the runway? Turn down for what!”
Indeed there would be no turning down for this group of fashionistas — women and men — who range in age from 50 to 83 and who came together to strut their stuff on a runway in the middle of the mall.
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
The catwalk kicked off Seniors on the Runway Atlanta Fashion Week, a weeklong event consisting of fashion shows and other fun activities geared toward senior residents of metro Atlanta.
The event is produced by Carrie Hamilton, founder of Another Tut Production. This is Hamilton’s first full week of fashion events for seniors, created to coincide with Older Americans Month. “In a nutshell, I glamorize aging,” she said.
Hamilton started producing fashion shows in 1989 as a student at Westlake High School. She continued as a student at Clark Atlanta University, and says her fashion shows have always been a mixture of fashion, entertainment and theater, inclusive of all age groups.
Seniors on the Runway has modeling groups in eight cities, including Atlanta, Albany and Columbus here in Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. Since 2006, Hamilton’s company has focused much of its attention on training older models to perform in fashion shows.
It’s part of her ministry, she says, adding that she feels a spiritual call to highlight seniors in a positive and uplifting way. She also uses the event to press upon seniors the importance of making time for themselves, she says.
“People expect you to sit in your rocking chairs or to babysit. They don’t expect to see you strutting,” she said she tells Seniors On The Runway’s participating models.
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
Hamilton began the platform to honor her father, 75-year-old father Nick “Big Daddy” Hamilton, who she calls “the face” of Seniors on the Runway. He also trains male models, handles performance choreography and engages with audiences to draw crowd participation.
Hamilton’s daughter Callie Hamilton Evans, who has been modeling since two years old, directs the senior fashion shows.
Saturday’s event at Greenbriar Mall featured line dancers, a best dressed contest, as well as vendors hawking healthy snacks and services geared to older adults. Models wore attire donated by shops inside the mall and high fashion frocks from their own closets.
One of Saturday’s crowd-pleasing highlights was the “Mommy and Me” segment, which featured models walking the runway alongside their grown children or grandchildren.
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
For the Fashion Week event, Hamilton held an audition for senior models, attracting 227 women and men trying out for a slot. Hamilton whittled that number down to about 80 new models and invited some of her more seasoned senior models to join the weeklong activities.
“I do not play when it comes to that runway,” Hamilton says.
Hamilton says “slaying and praying” is a hallmark of her vision for Seniors on the Runway. On Sunday the group of almost 60 models — this time wearing bright red T-shirts — attended worship services at World Changers Church in College Park. After service, Pastor Carole Jones prayed with the group before they shared a meal together at a nearby Piccadilly’s Restaurant.
Timothy Alston, a membership growth consultant with JenCare, a senior citizen service provider, recently modeled with Seniors on the Runway for the first time. “As a model in the show I felt empowerment knowing I was helping to glamorize being a senior in a positive way, fostering a sense of pride and recognition.”
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
While fashion is a key ingredient of what makes the shows successful, Hamilton, who recently completed her doctorate in higher education leadership at Clark Atlanta University, also offers moral support to the models.
Model Iris Hawthorne is 64 and based in Albany, Georgia. The 5-year cancer survivor told the group how much she appreciated being a part of Seniors on the Runway, especially during her cancer battle. The chemotherapy and resulting hair loss left her feeling less beautiful, she said, but she appreciated that Hamilton “didn’t throw me away.”
Instead, Hamilton encouraged Hawthorne to rock her bald head on the runway. The crowd loved it.
Hamilton says Seniors on the Runway also helps senior residents make social connections, another important factor in healthy aging. Models in each city where the group operates remain connected after the fashion shows end, offering ongoing support to each another.
Credit: Emily Heath
Credit: Emily Heath
Said Columbus senior model Gloria Johnson: “Finally, an equal opportunity for all shapes, sizes, height and abilities.”
She added: “I spent all my life taking care of others. Now in this new chapter of my life, I have the opportunity to do what I enjoy.”
Seniors on the Runway continues through Saturday, May 11.
Correction: An earlier version of this story inaccurately stated that Hamilton received her Ph.D from Clark Atlanta University in counseling psychology. This story has been updated to reflect that Hamilton’s doctoral degree is in higher education leadership.
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