Photo: Fadil Berisha/NEW YOU
Age is nothing but a number.
For models Carmen Dell’Orefice and Beverly Johnson, that couldn’t be more true. The two of them appear together on thelatest cover ofNew Youmagazine — at ages 91 and 69, respectively.
Dell’Orefice — who even posed nude for the photos — has been modeling for decades and previously appeared on the cover of New You nearly a decade ago. When it came to posing nude for the new cover, the model couldn’t have been more comfortable.
Fadil Berisha/NEW YOU
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“Just like working with acclaimed photographer Fadil [Berisha], it’s their perception of what they see in you or me,” she said. “We are there, a synergy starts to happen, and they bring it out. It’s where their mindset is. The photographer’s mindset is high, not in the gutter. It’s all projection. We’re all silent actresses, and that’s what it’s about.”
For most of the photos, both Dell’Orefice and Johnson appear together, and Johnson told the outlet that working with Dell’Orefice was a dream, because she’s someone she looks up to.
“I like to go on the record to say this woman is my idol,” Johnson said. “She is model goals. She’s been a mentor to me and doesn’t even know, and I have the utmost respect for this woman. I know all of her photographs. She has the biggest, most stunning body of work of any model in fashion.”
Both Dell’Orefice and Johnson have appeared in a number of magazines and modeled for countless designers, building careers that are unparalleled in the industry. Johnson made history in 1974 when she became the first Black model to appear on the cover ofVogue, and while that milestone has played a large part in her career, she’s also been vocal aboutcriticizing how the industry treats Black people.
In June 2020, Johnson appeared on an episode ofGood Morning Americawhere she told ABC’s Juju Chang that real change has to start at the top, after writing a powerful op-ed about racism for theWashington Postearlier that week.
“There is no diversity in the upper echelon. None. We don’t have a seat at the table. We have no representation in the fashion world,” the author, actress and businesswoman said during the interview. “On the outside now, you’re seeing Black models and you think we’re getting somewhere. But basically, the economics of the business, we are not participating financially.”
Dell’Orefice had her ownVoguemilestone when she appeared in the magazine in 1946 at age 15, one of the youngest models to ever appear in the pages of the iconic fashion magazine.
“With [photographer] Irving Penn, I brought my first double page inVogueto life,” she toldNew You. “He told me to try to breathe as little as possible and don’t move. Just sit there. Irving was a really good friend to me, and he saved my life physically. He made me go to theVoguestaff doctor to ensure I was healthy enough to work because, in those days, you needed permits due to child labor, especially at my young age.”
source: people.com
