Exclusive | Old age has entered! ’90s supermodels are more in demand than ever ahead of NYFW

More than three decades after launching her modeling career, Beri Smither is landing as many gigs as she did in 1989 when she was 18.

“As long as I can still work, I’ll take work,” Smither, now 53, told The Post before hitting the runways multiple times this New York Fashion Week.

The former Vogue cover regular — who has modeled for a number of legendary pieces and high-end brands — is just one of the seasoned beauties in high demand this fall, bringing ’90s nostalgia back to the runway and continuing a trend led by rising supermodel stars like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington.

“I think it’s getting into the era when models were orthodox in a way,” Smither said of the nostalgic comeback, which fits neatly with other throwbacks that younger generations have found suddenly fascinating, whether it’s fashion trends or tapes. and digital cameras. .

The turn of the century, she told The Post, was “a little cleaner” and had “a different energy” than today’s Internet-driven world.

And while everyone’s obsessed with nostalgia, there’s no denying that things look remarkably different than they did in 1989—the year Smither first started modeling, just before celebrities began appearing en masse on magazine covers and in cosmetic campaigns.

“I adored models,” explained the poser, who dazzled on the covers of Allure, Elle, Vogue, Glamor and Cosmopolitan throughout her decades-long career.

“There was just a certain prestige, I think it was more.

Smither started rapping long before social media and smartphones, when girls and boys-to-be were discovered at their mall or ice rink — rather than using celebrity parents, a celebrity partner or a wide following. social media, she said. .

At the time, Smither – who has been photographed by world-renowned photographers such as Peter Lindbergh and Arthur Elgort and has directed advertising campaigns for major fashion houses such as Chanel, Armani and Versace – said the main “exposure” for models was long-term , tangible. products.

Now, fame depends on viral moments.

“Back when I was doing it, the exposure would be in periodicals, newspapers, magazines, but now it’s all over the Internet,” Smither said. “Everyone is looking for content.”

But one difference between then and now is that aging is no longer taboo: Models of all generations are celebrated and walk some of the biggest runways every season. Last spring, the Collina Strada catwalk saw women of all ages walk the runway – including a young mother with her baby – while Batsheva exclusively selected women over 40.

This season, which kicks off on Friday, is set to be no different, which model Liisa Winkler, 46, calls “refreshing”.

“When I turned 20, I remember my agent [saying]”You keep saying you’re 19, because basically that tells me you’re kind of old,” Winkler told The Post, recalling a time when “saying you’re a teenager” was “more exciting to people.”

Winkler began her modeling career as a teenager, posing for Gucci campaigns or walking runways for Tommy Hilfiger, Paco Rabanne and Anna Sui, and has recently modeled for Proenza Schouler and Toteme.

But when the Ontario-based model and herbalist took a year off to become a mother and go back to school, she feared it would be the end of her career. After returning in her mid-30s, she was surprised to continue booking more high-end clients well into her 40s.

“Now I’m doing fashion shows with such a range of ages, to the point where I show up backstage and they don’t know what I’m there for,” Winkler said, recalling how she sometimes gets confused about hair and makeup. staff and not a runway model.

In her 20s, Smither never thought about a decades-long career, operating under the assumption that every shoot or track could very well be her last. Her secret, according to her, is “preservation”.

“You want to maintain, you want to take care of yourself,” she explained of her “holistic” wellness routine.

“It’s not just physical, it’s internal, it’s spiritual, it’s mental.”

For Smither, that means getting involved in her community, finding her purpose, strengthening relationships and, of course, going to the gym, making sure her “roots are done” and finding “a good dermatologist “.

She has also found a better relationship with fitness and food, is now 26 years sober and has recovered from an eating disorder.

“I’ve been obsessively exercising and eating the night before a shoot and waking up at 4 in the morning to get on the hotel treadmill and burn it up for two hours,” Smither said, calling her habits “crazy” old ones. .”

Her pre-track rituals these days look quite different, exercising as she would normally, while being a little more meticulous about her diet.

“I mean, nothing drastic,” she said, “but I’m going to cut out, like, sweets.”