For the most part, modeling success stories occur when a modeling agent spots a very pretty girl or boy when they are going about their normal day-to-day activities. Next thing they know, they’re signed with an agency and whipped off to Paris, New York or London to do their first photo shoot.
In the case of Lyn Slater, a 63-year-old professor at Fordham University, she was simply waiting for her lunch date outside the Lincoln Center. It was New York Fashion Week and Slater was wearing a Yohji Yamamoto suit and a Chanel bag when suddenly a crowd of photographers and curious onlookers surrounded her, accidently confusing her for a fashion icon and started snapping photographs asking what she was wearing.
Despite Slater and her friend laughing about how she had become an “accidental icon,” what she didn’t know was that the commotion would soon lead Slater to launch a super successful fashion blog and put her at the forefront of the anti-ageism movement in the fashion industry.
“I started ‘Accidental Icon’ because I was having trouble finding a fashion blog or magazine that offered an urban, modern, intellectual aesthetic but also spoke to women who live what I call ‘interesting but ordinary lives’ in cities,” Slater said in a statement.
Three years later, Slater is a well-known fashion icon and model. Her blog, “Accidental Icon,” gives fashion and beauty tips while showcasing her killer outfits. On her blog, Slater describes herself as a woman who “does not consume garments but lives her life in them and dresses honestly.”
But more importantly, Slater speaks against age discrimination in the fashion industry and every day life, sharing ideas on how to disrupt the notions through fashion.
Lyn is currently signed by Elite London and has worked on campaigns for Mango, Uniqlo, Valentino and Barney’s, among others. Slater is a great success story, but the true key to her success is being to true herself and choosing to ignore advice like ‘dress your own age.’
By: Maytinee Kramer
