Why I created Fabulous Fashionistas – an interview with film maker Sue Bourne

A while ago I spoke to you about Fabulous Fashionistas. An absolutely fascinating film about older women making the most of their golden years and looking absolutely fabulous in the process.

Sue contacted me to ask if I would alert my readers that this film is now for sale. As I believe that everyone should see this movie, I am very happy to do that and I also took the opportunity to ask Sue some more questions about the film and her own personal style. Enjoy and then be sure to buy and watch the movie!

Hi Sue. Thanks for taking the time out to answer a few questions for 40PlusStyle.com. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself?

I was born in London but moved to Scotland at one year old and lived there through to the end of my Twenties. Formative years therefore all Scottish so as a result I feel I am a Scot.. not least because I have quite a strong Scottish accent. I lived and worked up there till my late twenties when I moved to London and have worked down here more or less full time since.

I have been making documentaries most of my life.. originally at the BBC but then I went freelance. And in 2000 I started my own little company Wellpark Productions. I have been making my films through them ever since. It is probably THE smallest production company in the UK – just me and the dog quite a lot of the time as I look around for the next film I want to make. Then a tiny but devoted team around me when I finally find a subject I want to make and get a commission to make it. It is a great way of working for me – by not really having any overheads it means that I don’t have to do any rubbish – I can be really selective about the films I make. And when I get a commission then all the money goes on the screen. I live to make films.. and I have had a great time doing that. What has been great is that in a way I have had what I think is called ” a late flowering.” For a long time I worked at the BBC doing whatever films they wanted me to do. All good, high quality film making but not necessarily my choices. When I started my own company I think I found my voice and really began to make the films I wanted to make. Subjects that interest me that somehow or other I thought would be of interest to other people as well. And that seems to have worked quite well in terms of the films striking a chord with many people.

Fabulous Fashionistas is one such example. I have always found older people interesting – I did a film called Bus Pass Bandits which was about old age pensioners who took to crime in their sunset years. With the Fashionistas film I was really looking for role models for the next twenty/ thirty years of my own life. Women who could inspire me about how to lead my life, who still looked great and were enjoying life. I want to squeeze the pips out of life so I was looking to find other women who were doing the same. It took me over two years to get this film made.. it has changed quite a bit along the way but that often happens with films. I think the film that emerged at the end of that rather long process is probably better than it would have been if it had been the film I originally intended to make.

As a point of reference which age group do you belong to or perhaps you are willing to share your age?

I am in my fifties so I am part of the baby boomer generation. My sense is that my generation is going to redefine the ageing process.. in fact I think they have already started doing that.

People of my generation are still working into their sixties and seventies. They are still active, they still take interest in how they look. A lot of them have no intention of retiring .. and don’t want to. They don’t dress or think like “old people” .. they dress with a sense of their own style. They are physically fitter and more active than previous generations. They are more adventurous … often they have been in a marriage or partnership for years but now the children have left they want to make big changes in their lives so they are going off and doing new things, having adventures. It is exciting times for older people. THe women therefore I set out to find are the pioneers for my baby boomer generation.

Why did you decide to create the film Fabulous Fashionistas?

For all the above reasons. I wanted inspirational role models to show me how to make the most of life. However if I had gone to any of the broadcasters in Britain and said I wanted to make a film about inspirational, feisty older women I would not have got the commission. Older people are just not very attractive to broadcasters. Even though they make up a large proportion of the viewing audience.

So one way to ensure I DID get a commission was to go in through the “prism” of style and fashion … the women I went in search of were refusing to be invisible .. they had to have a great sense of style, of self, of fashion. By saying I was going to find women who looked great I think that is what made the film sound as though it was going to be different. That is also what made it possible to get the commission. If I had not had that “stylish” tag on it I don’t think I would have been able to make the film. And equally I don’t think it would have made such an impact.

Why did you focus on style and fashion?

See above. However, the film is NOT at all about style and fashion. As I explained above giving it that ostensible “fashion” tag is what I had to do to get a commission. But the film is really about life. About attitude. And about spirit. That is what I was really interested in exploring. And all the women in the film were wonderfully eloquent and inspirational in what they had to say about life.

What is interesting too though is the fact that they all still took an interest in their appearance.. they had not given up. They refused to be invisible. They would not wear Beige! And that is why I think they were so great.. and why they struck a chord with so many women world-wide.

What attracted you so much in each of the women you featured?

For a film to work well you have to have variety. So what I set out to find in any multi charactered film I am making is people with different things to say. A film will be boring and one dimensional if you have six different people all saying the same thing. So in essence what attracted me to each of the women in the film was that each and every one of them was saying something very different.

There was obviously also common ground – the fact they did exercise, the fact they were all pretty slim, the fact they all were curious about the world, the fact they all had something driving them to keep going… etc etc. So I was attracted to the different aspects of each of the women. For every one person who finally appeared in the film I most probably had met and talked to another ten women … it was a long and fascinating search.

What have you learned from those women and how will you apply that in your own life now?

In many ways I learnt much of what I already knew – they were all confirming what I think I believe… that life is what you make of it. That being positive and curious is a must.

That you should be true to yourself and that should inform the face you show to the world. If you are not interested in clothes and fashion then you are not going to bother how you look. But if your clothes are something of a statement about you as a person you will continue to show an interest in your appearance. You will also show an interest in other people. And in the world around you.

The main message I took from them was a reinforcement of the fact that you have to fight the ageing process.. “if you give it an inch it will take a mile ” As Gillian Lynne says … you have to work hard at being alive. But the dividends are great. I should take more on board the lesson they all gave me about doing exercise and staying fit and not eating too much. I knew that already, but I continue to shy away from it. Must turn my face to it soon !!

Do you have a story to share about making this film or the women that were featured?

One of the things that I decided we had to do to make the film stand out was have a photo shoot.. if the film was ostensibly about their style then I had to see what their style really was. So we hired a top fashion photographer and a studio for the shoot. And then invited the women to come along for a half day each.

We did provide a proper make up lady (you have to with lights) and they came along with a selection of their own wardrobes. No stylist and no help or advice really from me. The photos we took over those three days are I think tremendous.. the women look great. But they look great because they are their own people.. making a statement very much about the women they are – in their seventies, eighties and nineties. No botox no plastic surgery. Yet still very beautiful and strong. I love those photos.

Will you be a fabulous fashionista yourself when you grow up?

No I don’t think I will be fabulous at all.. but I think I will continue to dress well and take an interest in what I wear. I am not flamboyant enough to be a Fab Fashionista.

Can you tell us a bit about your own style?

I used to be a bit more flamboyant than I am today .. not that I have toned it down because of age but just that my style evolved and changed. Before, I used to wear really big earrings and necklaces, cowgirl skirts and colourful tops. These days the jewellery is distinctive but not so loud. I have got a bit stuck with the same pair of (very nice) over the knee leather boots. Black leggings and a series of what I hope are quite good tops. I have been trying to wean myself off black lately so there is more colour now in my wardrobe but still quite a lot of black too.

Is style and fashion important to you?

I have my own style and that is important to me. I know what I like and what suits me. Fashion is less important to me…though I keep an eye on what is changing and might eventually catch up with a new style a while later.. What I don’t do is spend a huge amount of money on clothes. I would rather have a few nice outfits than one outrageously expensive one …

What inspires your outfit choices the most?

I know what I like and now I have a pretty good sense of what suits me… my weight fluctuates quite a bit so my clothes do change depending on where I am on the weight continuum.

Do you believe in dressing ‘age appropriately’ and what does it mean to you?

I think people should wear whatever they want. What you dont want is people to laugh at you because you look ridiculous. So if I ever worn anything that resulted in that then I would consider I had dressed “age inappropriately” for it to illicit that response. There are a few shops I go into and I love their clothes – Urban Outfitters. .. and I do sometimes look in the mirror and wonder if maybe I am now too old to wear that particular outfit. But that is self censorship … the person I do now ask about “age appropriateness” is my daughter. She is quite a good barometer to ensure I do not make a stupid purchase.

Do you follow trends? And if yes, which trends excite you at the moment?

I’m not a trend follower at all.

Do you plan to create another documentary with a similar theme?

No I will not be making another one like this… sadly.. I think there is probably a series in there but I have not been inundated with offers to make the sequel !! Sadly.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m already working on my next film which is due out later this year. Other possible films being sussed out now.. onwards and upwards.

Anything further you would like to add?

Here is the card about my films now being available on the website.

Thanks Sue for your great insights. If you have not already seen the movie I encourage you to buy it online. It truly is a fascinating movie that will inspire you for years to come!

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Fabulous Fashionistas photography: Christopher Kennedy

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