Jenny from the block lives it up at 50

Singer Jennifer Lopez performing onstage during the Super Bowl half-time show at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Sunday.
Singer Jennifer Lopez performing onstage during the Super Bowl half-time show at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Sunday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

NEW YORK • Fifty won the Super Bowl.

Fifty years between wins for the American football team Kansas City Chiefs and 50-year-old pop superstar Jennifer Lopez, whose half-time performance in a series of barely there Versace bodysuits sent social media into something of a meltdown.

More than four decades ago, American writer-activist Gloria Steinem crafted an aphorism that went down in history when, on her 40th birthday, a reporter told her she did not look her age - and she responded: "This is what 40 looks like."

On Sunday, Lopez, also known as J. Lo, showed the world what 50 looks like - at least her version of it.

There had not been this much excitement over a woman flaunting her age in public since actor Keanu Reeves took Alexandra Grant, a silver-haired 46-year-old artist, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art gala last November.

Fashion has not been used in such a pointed way during the Super Bowl since singer Beyonce referenced the Black Panthers in outfits and imagery during her performance of Formation at the 2016 game.

Last September, Lopez had hinted at what was to come when she strutted down the Versace runway during Milan Fashion Week in a dress that was an homage to the navel-baring gown she wore at the Grammys 20 years ago.

That got everyone's attention - if they had not already seen her star turn in the movie Hustlers (2019).

Though seeing something in person versus onscreen is already different.

But this time, she and fashion designer Donatella Versace cooked up a series of quick-change looks that segued from black leather chaps-and-moto-jacket bodysuit, revealed when Lopez ripped off her hot-pink ball skirt in the first few seconds of her performance to sheer mirror-shard number to booty fringe - with a banner showing the American flag on one side and the Puerto Rican flag on the other, used as a shawl.

The various looks were embellished with 75,000 Swarovski crystals, what was described as "ethically sourced feathers" and took, according to Versace, more than 700 hours to make (the mirror bodysuit) and more than 900 hours (the leather one).

Yes, the outfits were a little silly. Yes, they were racy. Yes, singer Shakira, the other half-time star, also wore a micro skirt with lots of sparkling fringe by Norwegian designer Peter Dundas - and yes, she is 43.

But the total J. Lo effect was kind of mesmerising: an in-your-face demonstration of a woman glorying in her physicality and a dare to anyone who might render judgment based on a number.

It is worth pointing out that Lopez is currently fashion's favourite celebrity, possessed of not just a Versace contract but two others (Coach and Guess).

This is no small thing in an industry famously obsessed with youth.

It suggests that it may be time for all of us to rethink those words: "Dress your age."

NYTIMES

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 05, 2020, with the headline Jenny from the block lives it up at 50. Subscribe