Is 2026 the year of the Queenager?

Last year saw a greater awareness of older women in fashion and beauty. But 2026 marks a milestone: the first wave of millennials in India will turn 45. And this shift is set to reshape how fashion and beauty brands look at age, representation, and aspiration.

According to a Morgan Stanley report, India is home to over 400 million millennials, making it the largest millennial cohort in the world. This generation not only witnessed women entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, but also wields significant spending power, particularly for the fashion and beauty industries. With that comes an expectation: they want to see themselves, and older women, represented in campaigns and on screens.

Some early signals are promising. Kareena Kapoor Khan, now 45, returned as the face of Lakmé. 50-something Bollywood icons Kajol and Twinkle Khanna anchored a show on Amazon Prime, while 60-year-old Kim Cattrall (of Sex and the City) became the face of Charlotte Tilbury and featured in London-based Indian designer Ashish Gupta’s collaboration campaign with British department store Debenhams.

Kim Cattrall in London-based designer Ashish’s campaign with Debenhams

At Lakmé Fashion Week, industry veterans Tabu, Neelam, and Madira Bedi (all women all in their 50s) walked the ramp. Clearly, a “maturity quake” is underway.

Tabu, Neelam, and Madira Bedi at LFW 2025

‘Aunty’, a badge of style

Being called an “aunty” was once considered dismissive or even insulting. Today, it’s being reclaimed as a badge of experience and style. Designer label Nor Black Nor White even launched a slogan T-shirt celebrating the term, turning the once-ageist term into a symbol of empowerment and playfulness. It has been worn by actors Alia Bhatt and Zeenat Aman.

‘Which genius decided that “aunty” is a derogatory term? It certainly wasn’t me,’ asks Zeenat Aman on social media
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy @thezeenataman

Campaigns featuring older women are receiving positive feedback, too. And fashion magazines are increasingly turning to celebrities from the 1990s for their covers. Yet, despite nostalgia becoming a key driver of fashion storytelling, such inclusions are still the exception rather than the rule.

Representation remains uneven. Even when fashion stores feature older women in their campaigns, the products themselves are largely designed for the tastes and lifestyles of those in their 30s and younger — showing that inclusion has often been about marketing optics. Terms such as “anti-ageing” and “age-defying” continue to dominate marketing and fashion lexicon, signalling that the industry’s mindset has a long way to go.

Fun is ageless

Culturally, not much has changed in how India views women once they pass 40. Society celebrates men as they grow older — becoming distinguished, charismatic, or even “foxy” — while women are expected to age “gracefully”, according to rigid standards. Age-positive advocates, from Delhi-based artist Mukta Singh to actress-author Lisa Ray, frequently challenge this on social media, asking to be called Queenagers. They believe having fun with fashion is ageless.

You still see ageist comments on social media about Aishwarya Rai. Just a few weeks ago, actor Dia Mirza called out the double standard where older male actors continue to be cast opposite much younger female leads, even as older women are seldom shown as romantic equals.

No expiry date for self-expression

Perhaps change will accelerate now that millennials, the generation that shaped culture significantly, are moving into their 40s. These are the women and men now occupying leadership roles in fashion and beauty companies. They understand first-hand that aspiration, style, and self-expression do not have an expiry date.

With women living longer and taking better care of themselves than ever before, it would be wise for beauty and fashion to embrace age-inclusive representation as a way of future-proofing their brands. 2026 could therefore and (hopefully does) mark a turning point.

The fashion journalist and author is based in Dubai.