World’s oldest supermodel Carmen Dell’Orefice, 91, stuns in nude shoot

A 91-year-old supermodel has proven age truly is just a number, stripping down to her birthday suit to pose for a magazine spread.

Model Carmen Dell’Orefice, 91, appears nude in a magazine photo shoot. Picture: Fadil Berisha for New You

For Carmen Dell’Orefice, age truly is just a number.

At 91, the silver-haired stunner is the world’s oldest working supermodel. And this month, she shares the cover of New You magazine with another boundary-breaking beauty: Beverly Johnson, 69, who in 1974 became Vogue’s first black cover model.

Dell’Orefice even posed nude for her shoot, looking completely comfortable while lounging beneath the covers in the buff, reports the New York Post.

“Just like working with acclaimed photographer Fadil [Berisha], it’s their perception of what they see in you or me. We are there, a synergy starts to happen, and they bring it out,” the model said of why she was open to stripping down.

“It’s where their mindset is. The photographer’s mindset is high, not in the gutter. It’s all projection. We’re all silent actresses, and that’s what it’s about.”

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Dell’Orefice appears nude in a photo shoot in New You magazine. Picture: Fadil Berisha for New You

Like Johnson, Dell’Orefice has a special connection to Vogue: Back in 1947, she fronted the fashion bible at age 15, making her one of the mag’s youngest cover stars of all time.

“With [photographer] Irving Penn, I brought my first double page in Vogue to life,” she recalled of her first appearance in the magazine a year prior.

“He told me to try to breathe as little as possible and don’t move. Just sit there. Irving was a really good friend to me, and he saved my life physically. He made me go to the Vogue staff doctor to ensure I was healthy enough to work because, in those days, you needed permits due to child labour, especially at my young age.”

Dell’Orefice hasn’t stopped working since; she’s appeared in campaigns for the likes of Sephora, H&M and Missoni, and walked runways for Thierry Mugler, Moschino, Isaac Mizrahi and more.

Dell’Orefice, circa 1950. Picture: Erika Stone/Getty Images

Dell’Orefice in 2012. Picture: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

The New York native credits motherhood and self-love with keeping her young.

“Men and women should care for themselves and love themselves. One of the secrets to maintaining beauty is doing what you do for a baby, nurturing and feeding the baby with love,” she said.

“That’s what we should do with ourselves: Nurture ourselves, love ourselves and give that kind of energy to ourselves.”

Beverly Johnson and Carmen Dell’Orefice. Picture: Fadil Berisha for New You

Johnson, who called Dell’Orefice her “idol” and “model goals,” will celebrate her 70th birthday on October 13 and shared similar advice with the magazine.

“At this present moment, I’m doing pilates. We all know that you have to eat right, drink a lot of water and move and exercise or have some kind of routine,” she said.

“I try to take care of myself on a daily basis. And that means meditation too. I have a spiritual life, four grandchildren, and my daughter. All those things, together with love, keep me in balance.”

Johnson, who’s covered more than 500 magazines over the course of her career and continued to push for more diversity in the industry, returned to the runway at New York Fashion Week in February.

She spoke with Page Six Style about the “magical” moment shortly afterwards, quipping that she was “flying around New York like it was 1970” and admitting she took her first ever catwalk lesson beforehand to brush up on her strut.

“It’s not just walking … it’s theatre, it’s dance, it’s movement,” she told us. “It’s not easy.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission