Style

Cara Delevingne Is The Face Of Dior's Anti-Aging Line & Twitter Is Not Here For It

by Marlen Komar
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

On Oct. 24, Dior announced 25-year-old Cara Delevingne as the new face of its Capture anti-aging products, and the decision is not going over well with some customers. The brand announced the new partnership through Instagram, posting an image of Delevingne with a caption saying, "The house of Dior is delighted to announce that @caradelevingne, revolutionary top model, committed woman and rising actress, is now the face of the skin care line 'Capture' #diorforyouth." But some say that the decision to cast Delevingne is strange and misguided, since mature brands more commonly choose women over 30 years old to represent similar lines.

The announcement lead to confused and unimpressed comments from Dior's Instagram followers, most critiquing the brand for ageism. Currently, the Capture line is known for serving women 40-plus, which is radically different than the average age of Delevingne's fans, let alone the model herself. Before Delevingne, '90s supermodel Eva Herzigová — who is 44 — had held the title of ambassador since 2012. It's not clear is Delevinge is replacing Herzigová entirely.

There is one possible explanation for the choice to have a 25-year-old as the face of the campaign: Dior is currently working to expand their Capture line to include new skin care items targeted at women 30-plus. Delevingne, then, might be intended to be the ambassador of this slightly younger new collection, called "Capture Youth," which is reportedly aimed at delaying the first signs of skin aging, according to WWD.

As reported by Vogue, once you hit your 30s your skin's reparative abilities begin to weaken, and that's when more fine lines, brown spots, crow's-feet, and dull complexions can come in. Casting a twenty-something who naturally has a stronger cell turnover is a notable misstep, even if Delevingne isn't meant to represent the entire Capture line. Because of her age, her skin is not prone to the same type of aging signs as a more mature woman.

Bustle reached out for comment from Dior on the casting of Delevingne.

Regardless of the brand's intention, most social media users voiced their disapproval of the message the brand is sending by choosing a woman so young for a mature line. Many said the choice was just another example of beauty imposing impossible standards on women, leaving many women feel like they are "past their prime" after their 20s.

"Love Cara, but having a 25 year old as as the face of products targeted at 30+ year olds doesn’t make sense," one user commented on Instagram.

Users on Twitter also sounded off on the announcement, some with serious critique and others with sarcasm.

Others were wondering if the brand thought their skin care line didn't actually work, since they didn't cast someone with more mature skin to be the ambassador for the products.

"So, you’re using a 25 year old as the face of your new aging skin line? In other words, the products in this line don’t work. That’s what you’re essentially saying," one Instagram follower pointed out.

Many others, however, jumped in with a simple hashtag that spoke volumes: #thatsnotme. By sharing #thatsnotme under the comments, mature Dior customers shared that they didn't see themselves reflected in Delevingne's youth, so they didn't see themselves buying the advertised product.

"If this is supposed to be a line for aging skin, this is a total fail regarding who you are choosing to represent it," one Instagram user shared. "Cara is great, but 25 is not exactly aged enough for an anti-aging campaign #thatsnotme."

Only time will tell how Dior handles the casting of Delevingne in practice, and if fans will eventually embrace her as the face of Capture. Until then, the internet will be watching — and critiquing.