'Score one for the older chicks'

Fashion is fine when you take some ownership about caring for the models and not having people aspire to anorexia 

“Score one for the older chicks,” is how 60-plus Blenheim GP Ros Gellatly sums up her foray into the world of fashion modelling this year.  

In February, she was the star of a photo shoot for Marlborough’s Admire magazine, modelling a series of “beautiful” designer clothes for Thomas’s Department Store. 

But while it might be a score for the older chicks, the white hair is no sign of age, the colour varies from month to month for the style-inspired GP. 

The day of modelling came about after local photographer David James took pictures of Ros and fellow GP David Bratt’s Blenheim wedding in January. 

He told her he’d love to do a photo shoot with her, which she took as a joke, but then the opportunity for Admire came along. 

“I like to say yes to this sort of thing,” she says. 

The shoot took a full afternoon. Starting with a make-up session, then moving to the site where the shoot would be, a private garden in the outskirts of Blenheim. 

With a heavy Italian influence, the garden setting was a beautiful site for the shoot, Ros says. 

A stylist put garments in different bags, pairing clothes she wanted together. Ros hadn’t seen any of them before. 

Some were her style, and some she wouldn’t have chosen for herself, “but that’s the fun thing, the ones you might never have picked”. 

The most enjoyable part was simply getting a chance to pose and express herself. She would try posing in different ways, with David letting her know what was working for the clothes and the light. 

Fashion has always played a part in her life, Ros says, but it doesn’t dominate. In younger days, she made a lot of her own clothes, but has less time for that now. 

The way each person can express themselves through what they wear is fantastic she says. She describes a lot of her friends as fashionable, but they wouldn’t all wear the same style of clothes. 

She’s inspired by “great New Zealand designers”, such as Trelise Cooper, World and Zambesi. 

“There are lots of other young designers too and I really try to support New Zealand design and manufacture if possible.” 

A love for fashion doesn’t come without its concerns though, and Ros says she’s worried about the increasing price of some fashion and the divide between the haves and have-nots the industry can promote, among other worries. 

“Fashion is fine when you take some ownership about caring for the models and not having people aspire to anorexia.” 

There are signs of hope for the industry, with the inclusion of plus-sized models and more awareness of who has made the clothes and where fabrics have come from. 

Her fashion mantra is that clothes should flatter the wearer and reflect that person’s own style.  

“I do wear a lot of black, but I do enjoy a lot of colour and it all depends on what I’m doing.”  

Being able to use fashion to play to different situations, be it work or a special occasion is fun, she says. 

It was a Trelise Cooper dress which she wore to her January wedding, in bright colours while all the guests wore white. 

A love of fashion does make its way into the practice rooms, Ros says, her patients feel free to comment on what she’s wearing, as well as what colour her hair is at the time. 

For the shoot it was, conservatively in her opinion, white. 

She says GPs dress differently depending on how they connect with their patients. In some cases, doctors will dress causally to connect with their patient base.  

Her style is less casual for work, with dressing up for patients a sign of respect in her world, as well as a way to mark out her professional life from other parts of her life. 

But, as well as being a good conversation point, Ros says how people dress has a clinical side.  

“The way people present themselves is part of the information we take in, we can gauge their mood or how well they are feeling.” 

Her patients saw the shoot and have been overwhelmingly positive about the results, as has her practice team. Even months later people come up to her and comment on the photos. 

The only negative feedback came from an older patient who gave a disapproving vibe, Ros says, “you could tell from the tone that he didn’t think it was seemly”. 

But seemly or otherwise, Ros would do it again in a heartbeat, even if she didn’t get to keep the clothes afterwards. 

It was a success for the store too, she went in and asked how it had gone and was told it was their most talked-about campaign ever. 

That, she puts down to the sassy photos and the fact they featured a local woman. 

Far from the idea of models being forced to stand in the freezing cold, Ros says the day was a scorcher, and a beautiful Ted Baker coat she wore kept her roasting hot. 

While Vogue hasn’t yet been in touch, she has had other ideas about how to pursue her passion for fashion, including writing a fashion blog. 

So far, the commitments of a working GP have not allowed time for that but stay tuned.