Supermodel Elle Macpherson Appears in Underwear Campaign at 62: ‘My Inner Flex’

Elle Macpherson has starred in a new modeling campaign at age 62.

The Australian supermodel partnered with designer Bonds to showcase its Bases Flex bra and underwear, posing in the color Cotton Kiwi Kiss in an Instagram post on Saturday, April 4.

Macpherson said in a statement that partnering with Bonds for its “Let’s Talk About Flex” campaign was all about encouraging people to embrace their “real self.” She also credited the campaign with helping her celebrate her “inner flex.”

“My inner flex is doing what feels right for me,” she explained. “That cheeky, give-it-a-go Aussie attitude has been part of my career and life journey from the start, so flexing in my knickers for this Bonds campaign really resonated with me, and felt like something to truly celebrate.”

The former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covergirl first announced her collaboration with Bonds in February by posing in a variety of one and two-piece ensembles for the designer.

“Let’s Talk about Flex.. Bases Flex redefines what it means to really feel confident and at home in your true self,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “I find an effortless, deep-down sense of ease and authenticity in @bondsaus Bases Flex collection.”

Macpherson began her modeling career in 1982 and hit the stratosphere within the industry by the end of the decade. She has appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue a record-setting five times throughout her career.

She stepped away from the fashion industry to raise her two children and focus on other businesses in the late 1990s. (Macpherson shares sons Flynn Busson and Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson with her former partner Arpad Busson. The model and Arpad split in 2005 after nine years together.)

In 2017, Macpherson was diagnosed with breast cancer after undergoing a lumpectomy. She was advised to have a mastectomy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and breast reconstruction surgery but opted for a “intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” instead.

“It was a shock, it was unexpected, it was confusing, it was daunting in
so many ways,” she told Women’s Weekly in 2024. “And it really gave me an opportunity to dig deep in my inner sense to find a solution that worked for me. … I realized I was going to need my own truth, my belief system to support me through it. And that’s what I did. So, it was a wonderful exercise in being true to myself, trusting myself and trusting the nature of my body and the course of action that I had chosen.”

While Macpherson did not necessarily recommend alternative medicine in all cases, she said she learned from her cancer battle that there are “absolutely no guarantees.”

“I chose a holistic approach. Saying no to standard medical solutions was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But saying no to my own inner sense would have been even harder,” she wrote in her 2024 memoir, Elle.

The Batman and Robin star went on, “Sometimes an authentic choice from the heart makes no sense to others … but it doesn’t have to. People thought
I was crazy but I knew I had to make
a choice that truly resonated with
me. To me, that meant addressing emotional as well as physical factors associated with breast cancer. It 
was time for deep, inner reflection. And that took courage.”

Following her cancer battle, Macpherson made a triumphant return to the runway after a 14-year hiatus as part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival in March 2024. She strutted down the catwalk during the Triumphant x PayPal runway, wearing a pale yellow belted trench coat and matching yellow trousers by Bianca Spender and, later, a Victoria & Woods brown jumper, dark rose-colored silk trousers and a long brown wool coat.

“Grateful to be asked to walk @paypalau for @melbfashionfestival – so good to be back home supporting Australian designers – Thankyou @paypalau,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.