She puts the glam in glamma.
An octogenarian from a small farming village in Zambia has become an unlikely style icon by dressing up in her fashion-forward granddaughter’s outfits.
Margret [sic] Chola gained internet fame after her granddaughter, Diana Kaumba, a NYC-based stylist, began snapping photos of her donning the glamorous ensembles.
“I feel different, I feel new and alive in these clothes, in a way that I’ve never felt before,” Chola, who lives in a village of just 10 miles, north of the Zambian capital, Lusaka, told the BBC. “I feel like I can conquer the world … I didn’t know I could make such an impact at this age.”
Chola doesn’t know her real age since she doesn’t have a birth certificate but believes she’s in her mid-80s. She now has 119,000 followers on her Instagram handle @legendary_glamma.
The photos on the popular page range from Chola draped in everything from a crown and sunglasses to a turban paired with a billowing skirt to ultra-long fake fingernails, blonde wigs, and multiple gold chains.
Her posts also pay homage to her life in Zambia, showing her holding an “ibende,” a wooden stick used to pound millet, or posing with a “mbaula” a charcoal brazier made for cooking.
Kaumba launched the account last year after she visited Zambia for the second anniversary of the death of her father, whom she credits for inspiring her fashion sense.
“I thought it would be nice to dress up Mbuya in high fashion and then take photographs of her in her natural habitat,” Kaumba explained to the outlet.
When she presented the idea to her grandmother, or “Mbuya” in the Bemba language, Chola obliged.
“I wasn’t doing anything at the time, so I just said: ‘OK. If that’s what you want to do let’s do it — why not?’” she told the outlet.
“You will miss me when I die and at least this way you will be remembering me.”
The first picture the pair shared — of Chola donning a silver pantsuit — quickly gained attention.
“I was so nervous when I posted that first photo. I left my phone for 10 minutes and in those 10 minutes there were 1,000 likes,” Kaumba recalled to the outlet.
“My mind was blown. The comments were flying in and people were asking for more.”
The page really took off in April, after featuring Chola sporting a red Adidas dress, multiple necklaces, and a crown.
Chola, a mom of three, said her outlook on life has changed because of her newfound fame.
“I’m now able to wake up with a purpose knowing that people around the world love to see me,” she told the outlet.
