Meet Lanvin's 82-year-old campaign star

French fashion house Lanvin has decided to use 'real people' for their autumn/winter 2012 campaign, making a star out of octogenarian dancer Jacquie "Tajah" Murdock.

BY Bibby Sowray | 19 July 2012

Jacquie “Tajah” Murdock in Lanvin's autumn/winter 2012 campaign. Photo: Steven Meisel

Photo: Steven Meisel

Photo: Steven Meisel

Photo: Steven Meisel

Photo: Steven Meisel

Lanvin creative director Alber Elbaz has decided to cast 'real people' as opposed to models for the French luxury label's autumn/winter 2012 campaign.

So far only two images from the campaign, which was shot by Steven Meisel, have surfaced, one showing a young lilac-fringed woman in a black and white dress and another featuring 82-year-old Jacquie "Tajah" Murdock.

"I was interested to bring these clothes back to the street somehow, and seeing how they look on different ages, different sizes," Elbaz told WWD of the campaign. "It felt like a crazy family, and I like that."

The campaign was develeoped under the creative direction of House + Holme, the creative agency run by Ronnie Newhouse and Stephen Wolstenholme, with make-up by the legendary Pat McGrath, hair by Guido Palau and set design by Mary Howard.

IN PICTURES: Lanvin autumn/winter 2012

Since the images were released a day or so ago, Murdock has become something of an internet sensation. Although Lanvin haven't publicly named any of their new stars in the campaign images, the octogenarian was already a vaguely familiar face thanks to her appearance in Ari Cohen's OAP-focused street style book, Advanced Style , but we had no idea of just how fascinating she was.

Tajah's full campaign image. Photo: Steven Meisel

Fashionista.com tracked her down to ask her all about her life and it turns out there's more to her than just enviable bone structure. She's an active dancer who performed at New York's legendary Apollo Theatre in her youth (Tajah is her dancer name), she has three, yes three, degrees from New York University - and she gets stopped in the street all the time by people wanting to take her picture thanks to her unique style.

She seems to have won Alber over too: "Alber Elbaz kept kissing me and saying 'I love you, I love you, I love you!' He came to say goodbye to me and said, 'Imagine if I never met you.'"

Her reaction to scoring a high fashion campaign? "Long time coming." We wish she was our nan.

Click through more of Lanvin's autumn/winter 2012 campaign images at the top of the story (they include an equally adorable old man in hi-tops.)