Jane Fonda landed a new fashion contract! Or, more accurately (and appropriately), a brand approached the inimitable Ms. Fonda, and she accepted. The brand is Golden Goose, most known for their star-emblazoned sneakers. Jane says she doesn’t do a lot of campaigns like this. Why? “Because I’m not friendly with a lot of brands.” Sadly, no one asked a follow up question on that juicy morsel. But she decided to say yes to showing off Golden Goose sneakers because… her days of going barefoot in the park are over! (If you’re blinking uncomprehendingly at your screen right now, watch more TCM.) No, her own personal connection drew her to accept the offer: the sparkly, glitterific kicks caught her attention when she was filming Book Club: The Next Chapter in Rome a few years ago. So now that the campaign has launched, Jane has a lovely, thoughtful new interview in the NY Times to hype the partnership.
How many sneakers do you have?
Quite a lot because I don’t throw them away. I don’t want them to end up in the ocean. I have many, many dozens of all kinds of sneakers, starting with the old colored Reebok high-tops.Presumably those were from your workout days?
I started really getting into sneakers in my 40s, when I started running. Until the ‘80s, when we started the workout, what I did for exercise was ballet. But back then, I wore sneakers only for working out and running. Now that I’m 87, I don’t wear heels anymore because they throw my pelvis and my hips out of whack. So low heels or almost flat shoes have become my thing — and sneakers that have sparklies on them.Do you still do your workout?
I work out with a trainer, partly because I love her but also because then you can’t say, “I’m going to stay in bed.” You have to get up if you’re paying somebody. Also, she only works with people over 50, and she’s very careful. You can get hurt more than you can when you’re young. I work out upper body, lower body, every other day, and then I do a lot of the same moves I used to do, with one big difference: I move slowly. It’s a mantra for being older.How do you feel about aging?
I don’t feel like an old person. I’m much younger than I was when I was in my 20s, in all the ways that matter. So it never occurred to me with this campaign, “Oh, God, isn’t this great. They’re using an old woman.” But now that I think about it, it is cool. I like that.Do you think of yourself as a role model for other women?
Yes, but it doesn’t manifest in clothes. It manifests in remaining active, keeping fit, standing up for what you believe politically, having good posture, staying curious. Women pay attention. I know because they write me.Who do you look up to?
I met Brittney Griner yesterday. I was star-struck, to tell you the truth. Oh, she’s tall. And she’s beautiful. I like women’s sports. I love women’s soccer. I like women’s basketball. And I like baseball. But I don’t follow it as regularly as I did when I was married to somebody who owned the team.
Oh wow. I don’t know about you, but hearing Jane say “I’m much younger than I was when I was in my 20s,” made me profoundly grateful. Even during my 20s I walked around in a cloud thinking, “Yeah, youth is definitely wasted on me.” So Jane’s words give me hope that I can still pull off a Benjamin Button trajectory, spiritually speaking. Though I have to lament once more that the interviewer again failed to ask a follow up about the part where Jane says she’s younger now “in all the ways that matter.” What are these ways?!
In any event, I love this brand partnership for Jane, and not just because of my own personal obsession with the comfort-shoe takeover in women’s fashion. I like that Jane said yes to Golden Goose because it felt authentic to her. And much like Jane, they had me at “sparklies.” So I looked up these sneaks and Holy price tag, Barbarella! They run from $400 to over $1,000!! So I’m sticking with my Hokas for now, which at least have bright colors. I can always glue-gun a bunch of sequins or rhinestones on them, I guess.
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Photos credit: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon
She looks fabulous until you look at her hands and they give it away. I do know you can do micro needling to help the collagen production on hands and arms. I know this because my daughter owns a medical spa and I have done it on my face which does work for me and I have been thinking of doing my hands and lower arms which are starting to be crepey. As for the shoes I tend to wear a lower heel these days if I have to dress up but it’s usually a nice comfortable wedge. Flats are in my future.
Has she had her lips done again? She looks very … plastic in these photos.
Agree. Her lips were more natural-looking and prettier a few cc’s ago. The false lashes are wonky like the glue came loose at one corner. Maybe have a makeup artist apply them?
I used to be a whiz with the lashes but not anymore.
It reminds me of one of my fav lines in the Bob Dylan song My Back Pages:
“I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now,”
All the things I thought were so important in my 20s..the way I took myself so seriously….I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.
One of my fav Dylan songs…🙃
She’s always had great hair. I’ve always liked her. Such a good actress. She was a great comedienne in Monster in Law.
She has a wardrobe of excellent wigs.