On the ‘Silver’ in Silver Spenders

One of the most interesting insights from Business of Fashion x McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2025 was effectively this: stop focusing exclusively on Gen-Z if you want to make money.

Fashion brands have typically focused on youth, but in 2025 they may struggle to grow sales from younger shoppers alone. The “Silver Generation” aged over 50 represents a growing population with a high share of global spend. Brands that engage these previously overlooked shoppers while creating inter-generational appeal will unlock incremental growth.

At last! But let me repeat this part: The “Silver Generation” aged over 50.

Since the report dropped, I’ve read a few spin-off trend reports referring to ‘Silver Spenders’ as ‘old people’ alongside images of little blue-rinsed ladies, canes and beautifully photographed wrinking skin. That’s a tad reductive and misleading.

When did the over 50s get so old?

Do we have a lag on our understanding of the appearance of age?

The “Silver” in Silver Spenders might conjure to mind a quaint image of 80+ pensioners, geriatrics peering over bi-focals. But it’s not a wholly accurate representation of those in the 50+ demographic today, and it’s important that everyone working with the “Silver Spenders” insight is aware of the interesting choice of wording and its potential for age-related bias.

What does good look like?

Let’s have a palette cleanser, drop the Silver and remember that we do in fact live in a time of commonplace botox (for better or worse,) collagen supplements, hairdye and sunscreen. Wrinkles and witchy-white hairs are still beautiful yes, but we are also infinitely more hydrated than our predecessors. Todays over 50s look good.

Better yet, the over 50s have experience.

Even Forbes finally took note and launched the Forbes 50over50. At Last.

The most compelling part of BoF x McKinsey’s insight was this: “Brands that engage these previously overlooked shoppers while creating inter-generational appeal will unlock incremental growth.”

To be successful, brands should not whiplash-pull the spotlight from one generation to the other, but instead seek to portray and respond to intergenerational dynamics.

As an aside: I think this is also true in our personal lives. How many 20/30-somethings regularly interact with those over 50 - who aren’t in extended family nor work colleagues?

Be Honest

As with all things inclusion, when creating products, campaigns and content, don’t just tick the box and expect an instant return on investment. Be clear about who you’re working with and why. With more years lived, comes more experience, insight, stories. Make the most of that. The core truths about relateable marketing and content with a clear perspective still stand. Don’t forget them in pursuit of a demographic switch-up.

Watch Out for Divisive Thinking

Don’t miss the window of opportunity to shape the narrative. Just as with Quiet Luxury, there was a short window of time where we had the opportunity to slow down and really consider how to market timelessness, but up popped the terminology switch to Generational Wealth alongside opportunistic capitalism (price go up, quality go down) which in-turn naturally sparked divisive narratives, understandable cries of elitism and a less-than enthusiastic engagement with the design shift.

Today, with this demographic adjustment forecast, we have once again the short window of opportunity to imagine and create a rebalancing of our social circles, our communities and how we connect with one another in the real world. This insight is not forecasting a 1:1 replacement but an addition. An expansion pack.

Avoid the call of those addicted to divisive thinking.

Yes, our less-than-loved Boomers hold the cards of power but Gen-Z hold all attention in the court of culture. There’s tension. Both generations dismissed for the energy of youth or the power of wisdom. It won’t be long before Gen-Z is replaced by Gen Alpha. Perhaps this is the wake-up call required to share insights and trade power dynamics between age groups? Or better yet: to push beyond demographic-thought into the realm of psychographics at last?

Demographic: Age 25-34, female, urban-based

Psychographic: Enjoys sustainable fashion, values inclusivity, prioritizes experiences over material goods.

That we are set to open our marketing minds and product line design efforts to a wider audience is a good thing. Nevertheless, when creating content brands must avoid the bias-to-blue-rinse thinking and instead produce creative work that is representative of real-life, real-world people over 50. And on the other hand, must ensure it’s not a shift in overlooking one generation for the other.

In the end, it’s quite simple: Focus on those who have great stories to tell, across generations. Stories worth telling at a time when we’re all obsessed with buying into entertainment and experience over products.

How to work with this insight if you are:

A Student: Explore! Speak to family members, friends of colleagues, professors and everyone in between. Record, archive, play. Then share it with the world. You have just increased your competitive advantage further down the line.

A Recent Graduate: Be curious. If you’re lucky, you’ll be over 50 one day too. If you’re anything like me, you will not truly believe that until you hit mid-30s. Imagine you’re 55 right now, what kind of world do you wish existed? Work on your communication skills and aim to create that.

A Mature Graduate: Congratulations! You just won the gold. You are now the voice of your generation and solely capable of providing the Silver perspective in all meetings. Do not let imposter syndrome filter your thoughts.

A First-time Manager: Seek out perspectives and guidance to ensure you’re talking to the right demographics. Lean into your empathy skills and compassion. There’s a high chance you might not be this target audience, but your ability to start with the insights and wrap them up in your creativity is priceless. Don’t call people over 50 “Old.”

A Senior Leader: Be the guide. Facilitate open conversation with employees across all age groups to co-create and develop intergenerational strategies. This might be about you, it’s also not. Prioritise psychographics over demographics. Read Casey Lewis’ After School like your life depends on it. Don’t ignore younger perspectives.

A C-Suite Founder: Do you have the right people informing your strategies? This is the chance to position yourself as an innovator across demographics. Not in a wishy-washy ‘we’re for everyone’ and therefore no-one way but starting with your unique POV and building out from there. Challenge the pressure to hyperfixate on youth and exclusively seeking specific generation tactics. Again: psycographics are your friend.

Freelance: Who are you working with and what’s in your archive? Is this an opportunity to showcase a service offering or branch out into a new specialisation. Do you need to broaden your network or invest more deeply in certain relationships. That might just be relevent for all of the above. Question briefs focusing on Gen-Z exclusively where relevant.

Just this week, Demi Moore won her first major award at the Golden Globes. At age 62. A Silver Spender decidedly not sporting a cane and purple rinse.

How will you work with this potential shift to reconcile our past over-index on youth? Is it time to put the ‘off to bed grandma’ meme to bed. Or time to stop overlooking one generation in favour of the other and to reimagine what intergenerational living really looks like.

What does intergenerational living look like for you?