A Grandmother from an African Village Accidentally Became a Style Icon at 80 (13 photos)
A Zambian villager has become an accidental style icon and internet sensation after agreeing to take part in a prank photo shoot and model for her stylist granddaughter. 
Margret Chola is now over 85, but she has become famous all over the world thanks to Instagram, where she is known as Legendary Glamma, with over 30,000 followers from around the world.
In 2023, her granddaughter Diana, who lives in New York, suggested that Margret become a model and try on various haute couture outfits to create a series of photographs called Granny.
"I feel different, I feel new and alive in these clothes like never before. I feel like I can conquer the world!" Margret Chola said in an interview with the BBC. 
The idea for such a shoot came to Diana during a visit to Zambia, where she arrived on the second anniversary of the death of her father - a man who, according to her, inspired her passion for fashion because he always dressed well. 
Diana hadn't had time to wear all of her carefully chosen outfits in that time, so she asked her grandmother if she wanted to try them on. 
"I wasn't doing anything at the time, so I just said, 'Okay. If that's what you want, let's do it — why not?'" said Margret Chola.
Her first outfit was a silver pantsuit.
"I thought it would be fun to dress my grandmother in high fashion and then photograph her in her natural environment," Diana said. 
The natural setting is a farm in a village 16 kilometers north of Zambia's capital Lusaka.
Most of the photos were taken outdoors. In them, Margret poses in elegant outfits against a backdrop of brick buildings, a ploughed field, mango trees and corn fields.
"I was so nervous when I posted the first photo. I left my phone for 10 minutes, and in those 10 minutes I got 1,000 likes," the granddaughter said. "I was in shock. Comments were pouring in, and people were asking for more." 
The real success of the "Grandma" photo series came in April 2024 - after Diana published pictures of Margret in a red Adidas dress, several massive gold necklaces and a crown sparkling with precious stones. 
The heroine of the photo shoot admitted that she was surprised to learn that people all over the world love her. She did not expect that at such an age she could enjoy such popularity. By the way, the woman doesn’t know exactly how old she is, since she doesn’t have a birth certificate.
She said that her personal favorites of all the outfits are jeans, a T-shirt with her picture on the front, and a blonde wig. 
“I’ve never worn jeans and a wig before, so I was happy and dancing,” Margret shared.
Her granddaughter, who has been working as a stylist since 2012, believes that her grandmother has “courage, grace, and can create any look.”
All of the looks in this series were based on eye-catching accessories - bold sunglasses, big hats, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings, gloves, bags, blonde wigs, crowns. This influence came directly from her grandmother, who, according to her granddaughter, "has always been a lover of pearls and bracelets." 
Diana hopes that the "Grandma" series will highlight that older people still have much to offer, and that creating memories together is an important way to "leave a mark on the next generation."
After the photo shoots, Diana received several offers from other girls to work with their grandmothers, aged 70 to 96. 
In turn, Margret Chola hopes that the "Grandma" series will inspire people to "live their lives and not worry about being judged by society."
It is noted that Margret herself was raised by her grandparents, she went to school until she was 12 or 13, and then, due to poverty, was forced to marry a man at the age of 30. 
She had three children, drank heavily, and eventually separated from her husband.
The trauma still haunts her, but unexpected worldwide fame gave her a new impetus and inspiration. 
