BETTER WITH AGE

Christie Brinkley, 72, Recreates Photo Taken When She Was 23

The supermodel celebrated the launch of the nostalgic campaign in New York City.

Christie Brinkley/Instagram

By Natalie DemareePublished Oct 23, 2026 5:01PM EDT

Christie Brinkley looks as glamorous as ever in a new ad campaign that nods to her early modeling days.

The 72-year-old supermodel appears in reimagined 1978 advertisements for Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey nearly 50 years after her first gig with the brand.

Supermodel Christie Brinkley celebrated the relaunch of her Black Velvet campaign 50 years after she first collaborated with the brand.

Christie Brinkley/Instagram

She shared behind-the-scenes photos snapped ahead of the brand’s launch event in an Oct. 23 Instagram post.

“Getting ready to celebrate the relaunch of my campaign for Black Velvet…50 years after my first ad!” Brinkley captioned the post.

“Don’t you LOVE a company that knows some things just get better with age…like whiskey and women! I’ll drink to that! Cheers!” she added.

Model Christie Brinkley at a Black Velvet Whiskey launch event in New York City. She is part of a reimagined 1978 campaign for the brand.

Heaven Hill Brands/Instagram

Photos of the new campaign, obtained by People and teased in an Oct. 23 Instagram post by the whiskey brand’s media representatives, show Brinkley smoldering at the camera while holding a crystal glass of whiskey.

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She wears black velvet attire, including a long-sleeved top with a deep V, and her blond hair is styled in a bouncy blowout with loose curls.

A string of jewels wrapped around her neck, matching dangly earrings, and a bold pink lip complete the look.

Black Velvet Whiskey campaign photos from 2026 and 1978 featuring supermodel Christie Brinkley.
Heaven Hill Brands/Instagram

The images bear a striking resemblance to the model’s work for the brand in her early twenties, when she posed in a similar style shirt with thin straps.

Her hair was also styled in a voluminous blowout, and she had a thicker, sparkly gem chain around her neck with large matching earrings.

Brinkley, who got her start as a model at 20 after being scouted in Paris, told People that seeing the new photos for the first time made her “really emotional.”

Model Christie Brinkley attends the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Eighth Annual Dinner Dance Benefit to Honor Christie Brinkley on April 26, 1991, Aboard The Princess Yacht in New York City.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

“I think that the ad probably wouldn’t be happening at all if we hadn’t already evolved to be a much more inclusive industry,” she said.

Continuing, “I think fashion is all about change, and our industry certainly is definitely all about change. But one of the most positive changes has been the inclusivity, the widening of our definition of beautiful.”