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Andie MacDowell Proves There’s No Time Limit on Beauty as She Returns to the Runway

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Image: Getty

Yesterday, L’Oréal Paris staged its second Le Défilé show on a 200-foot-long floating runway on Paris’s Seine, with thousands looking on from along the banks and Pont Royal bridge. And similar to last September’s event on the Champs-Élysées, the model line-up was characterized by inclusivity and diversity, from runway regulars such as brand ambassadors Duckie Thot, Doutzen Kroes, and Winnie Harlow to Hollywood stars including Andie MacDowell, Eva Longoria, and Elle Fanning, each clad in a look inspired by the mystique of la Parisienne from French designers such as Isabel Marant, Giambattista Valli, Jacquemus, and Sonia Rykiel.

For 60-year-old MacDowell—actress, model, mother of three—returning to the catwalk was thrilling in more ways than one. “I haven’t walked a show in a long time,” she says with a laugh backstage. Not only was it exciting to be part of such an iconic celebration of women, she continues, but it also reignited her love for Paris, the city that helped launch her career when she moved to the French capital at just 20 years old. “I grew up in a teeny-tiny town in South Carolina, so I wasn’t exposed to anything like Paris,” she says, recalling the instance when she showed up for an Yves Saint Laurent fitting in a T-shirt and jeans without a stitch of makeup on. “This city is where I got my education and grew up in so many ways. Oh, and learned how to wear red lipstick.”

With her all-American charm and the je ne sais quoi she picked up during her time living in the City of Lights, posing in front of the lens for legendary photographers such as Helmut Newton, Arthur Elgort, and Denis Piel, it’s no surprise she’s served as an iconic face of L’Oréal for more than 30 years, today marking a pinnacle moment in that decades-long relationship.

“It’s funny, because I had just found out I was pregnant when I [first] got my contract,” she explains. “It was a little scary, because I didn’t know what their reaction would be when I told them, but they were fine with it. And I had a lot of respect for that, especially in 1985. I did a commercial at eight months pregnant!” And through the years, the French brand’s inclusive approach to beauty has been in line with MacDowell’s personal prerogative: Embrace getting older, fearlessly. “I’m in the process—and have been in the process—of aging,” she says. “And with L’Oréal, I’ve really been able to [spread the message] that there’s no time limit on beauty.”

That said, MacDowell acknowledges it’s not always easy to accept the signs of getting older. “It’s a journey,” she admits, “but you can’t go back in time. I don’t want to pretend to be what I’m not and have never been ashamed of my age. I want to be positive about right where I am at each stage of my life.” For her, strong advocates of this attitude have been Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren (both of whom walked last year’s Le Défilé show). “I’ve always looked up to these women and thought, ‘Wow, look at the life they’re having. I can’t wait to get there,’” she explains, adding that she hopes to instill the same spirit in her daughters, singer-songwriter Rainey, 28, and actress Margaret, 23.

On this week’s catwalk, with a lush mane of dark lengths, an ageless glow, and a statuesque physique clad in sequins, it’s safe to say that MacDowell is making 60 look nothing short of aspirational.

Now Read: The Key Runway Looks From Paris Fashion Week (So Far)

This article first appeared on Vogue.com

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