How to Grow Up to Be Like Linda Rodin
Linda Rodin - the stylist, accidental beauty entrepreneur, and, now, icon of agelessness, radiated something beyond great genes and a lit-from-within sunniness. Like some medicinal spritz or elixir, Rodin exudes a special kind of mystery. Her particular fountain of youth isn’t a fresh pressed turmeric juice or any other trendy potion; it's an abiding quest for newness, adventure...and a life of what could be.
After decades working in fashion as a stylist for big names ranging from Madonna to Harper’s Bazaar, Rodin found herself front and center, perhaps the unlikeliest of It girls, at the age of 65. At a time when most of her contemporaries are taking it easy, Rodin, now 70, is pretty much just getting started. Following a slew of press and photo shoots — including stories in Vogue and a starring role in a now-collectible Karen Walker eyewear campaign — and the 2014 sale of her surprise skincare line, RODIN olio lusso (which she launched at the age of 60 in 2008 and later sold to Estée Lauder for an undisclosed amount), Rodin is already firing up her next business venture, of which the details are still under wraps. “All I can say is that it’s another passion project that feels completely right for me,” she says.
As a woman in my late 30ss, my own perceptions of aging and cultural relevance are constantly being shaped, and reshaped, by media, history, my peers, and strong, uncommon women like Rodin. Self-made, self-styled, and independent, she's earned the freedom to pursue new skills and obsessions whenever she wants — with no expiration date. And this is probably what I love most about her. She doesn’t just scoff at societal odds and lingering, dusty stigmas; she's living proof that getting older as a woman can and should invite more opportunities and experiences — not less — and that radiance and relevance have nothing at all to do with age. Maybe it used to, but getting older doesn’t scare me so much anymore. In fact, it seems pretty thrilling...and I can thank women like Linda Rodin for that.
