‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Downton Abbey’ star Maggie Smith, 88, is the face of Loewe’s new campaign
Amarachi Orie, CNN
(CNN) — Dame Maggie Smith, the British actress acclaimed for her appearances both on stage and in cinema, has taken on a new role — and this time it’s in the world of luxury fashion.
Loewe has cast the 88-year-old, known for roles such as Professor McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” film franchise, in its spring/summer 2024 pre-collection campaign.
The pointed hat and cape of Hogwarts are a distant memory as Smith sports three cosy and stylish looks for the campaign. Shot by German photographer Juergen Teller, it also stars American actresses Dakota Fanning and Greta Lee, American actor Mike Faist, British actor Josh O’Connor, South Korean music artist Taeyong, British artist Rachel Jones and Chinese model Fei Fei Sun.
In one image, she sits on a sofa wearing a black and white turtleneck dress, with a small, pleated, burgundy Loewe Paseo handbag.
In another, Smith is adorned in a floor-length faux fur coat and holds Loewe’s signature Puzzle bag.
“Heartstopper” actor Sebastian Croft commented under an Instagram post by Loewe Creative Director Jonathan Anderson in which he shared the looks, saying: “It’s so perfect.”
Smith — who is more recently known for her supporting role as Countess Violet Crawley in the British drama series “Downtown Abbey,” for which she won three out of her four Emmy Awards — garnered international acclaim and received a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of an eccentric schoolteacher in the 1969 romantic comedy “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.”
She won another Academy Award nine years later for her supporting role in the 1978 romcom “California Suite” and received a Tony Award for the Broadway production of “Lettice and Lovage” in 1990.
The actress is one of several older women who have fronted fashion lines and magazine covers in recent years. In March, tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od became Vogue’s oldest cover star with her appearance for Vogue Philippines at the age of 106 and in 2020, aged 85, Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench became the oldest person to ever grace the cover of British Vogue.
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