In ‘Fabric Matrons’, the American artist transforms Chanel’s archival fabrics into a cast of fictional women, questioning beauty standards, femininity and the pressure to remain young.
From ‘Untitled Film Stills’ (1977–1980) to ‘Society Portraits’ (2008), Cindy Sherman has spent decades transforming herself into fictional characters to question identity, gender stereotypes and the representation of women. Her latest series, ‘Fabric Matrons’, presented at Hauser & Wirth in London until 23 December 2026, explores the contradictions surrounding women and ageing. For this project, Chanel gave the artist access to its archives, allowing her to incorporate fabrics and jewellery into her photographs.
The idea emerged from a luxury jewellery advertisement featuring a model of Sherman’s generation, heavily retouched to appear younger. The image prompted her to explore the gap between ageing and society’s expectations of female beauty.
Using tweeds woven with leather, gold thread and sequins, Sherman creates improvised costumes and backgrounds. Raw edges, visible pins and draped fabrics reveal the artifice behind her fictional characters, sometimes almost swallowing them.
Her portraits exaggerate the signs of ageing or erase them altogether. Smooth faces, pronounced wrinkles, wigs and makeup expose the lengths women go to in order to remain desirable, while questioning who defines that desirability.
At 72, Sherman brings a personal perspective to her critique of beauty ideals. In ‘Fabric Matrons’, ageing becomes another way to explore how identity is shaped by the expectations of others and the roles women are encouraged to perform.
–
Follow us on Instagram @veinmagazine
