Martha Stewart is going to wear the way she wants to dress, regardless of what you think. On Tuesday (Oct. 17), the 82-year-old addressed the critics at the 39th annual Night of Stars Gala and Awards Ceremony in New York City, organized by Fashion Group International (FGI).
“Dressing for whose age?” she said to a Page Six reporter when asked about ‘dressing for one’s age.’ She goes on to say she has ‘dressed the same since [she] was 17’ years old. “If you look at my pictures on my Instagram, I look pretty much the same,” she said – adding that she doesn’t like to think about age.
Stewart wore a white, two-piece sequin bouclé costume designed by Dennis Basso, to whom she was requested to award the Lifetime Achievement Award. “I think people are more and more and more [fabulous] than they’ve ever been in their senior years, and I applaud every one of them,” she said.
On Wednesday (Oct. 18), Martha Stewart took to Instagram to share a series of images and one video from the event, including one of her at the podium, another with her ‘date’ Susan Magrino, and another with Dennis Basso. In the caption, she bragged about the night.
She praises Basso for his ‘storied career’ highlighted by ‘dressing the fanciest of ladies, including movie stars and First Ladies, as well as millions of others who were able to purchase his designs on [QVC] for the past 30 years.’ She goes on to describe it as a ‘very fun night’ and said she got to sit next to Basso.
“I sat next to Dennis in my beautiful white boucle suit designed by Dennis and the dashing [Julien Farel], hairdresser to the stars! [Susan Magrino] was my date and she looked amazing in a black and gold one-shoulder gown by [Dennis Basso],” she wrote – gushing about the event and all of those who attended it.
In the comments section of her post, Basso thanked Stewart for the memories made the night prior. “Thank you Martha for being With me last night and presenting me with my award. Love you so much,” he wrote. Farel – who did Stewart’s hair for the event – added red heart emojis in a comment of his own.
Martha Stewart Knows How to Push the Boundaries
Martha Stewart is no stranger to pushing boundaries – which explains why she’s not too phased by the criticism she receives over ‘dressing her age.’ I mean, we’re talking about an 82-year-old who was featured as the cover model for the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue earlier this year (May 2023).
“It should have been 30 years ago. That would have been great. It was not a goal I set for myself, but once asked, I thought to myself, let’s do it!” she said of the opportunity. “It’s important to stand up to challenges, whether they’re beauty challenges or intellectual challenges, even philanthropic challenges.”
She’s not just standing up to challenges with her recent endeavors, but she’s making history – becoming the oldest model to grace the cover of the SI Swimsuit issue. And she had one major request if she were doing it – no ‘old-lady bathing suits’ and no ‘little bows’ or cover-ups. She didn’t want to go with that look.
“I did not go for that look. I went for a nice, healthy, energized and, if you want to call it ‘sexy,’ sort of sexy look,” Martha Stewart said in an interview with TODAY at the time – adding that she wants nothing to do with her age. “I don’t look my age, I don’t act my age and I don’t want to even think about age,” she said.
