GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Liu Qianping was visiting
his 24-year-old granddaughter in the southern Chinese city of
Guangzhou recently when the women's clothes the aspiring fashion
entrepreneur was packing into boxes caught his eye.
His visit came as the model that granddaughter Lu Ting and four
friends had booked for a photo shoot to promote their online
fashion business suddenly canceled, dealing a setback to their new
venture.
But Liu, a 72-year-old former farmer visiting to escape the
chilly winter of central Hunan province, stepped in to help.
"I walked into the room and saw them packing up some clothes and
I thought they looked quite interesting and quite cute," Liu told
Reuters.
"So I tried on a jacket and they found it really funny, and I
thought it was quite funny. So they asked if they could take
pictures of me and post them on the Internet to sell the clothes.
And I said, 'why not?'"
It was at that time two weeks ago that a star was born.
Liu, known affectionately as "MaDiGaGa" - funny elderly - is now
one of China's most recognized models.
Delighted with his new fame, Liu says he now sometimes looks at
fashion program on television for ideas on how to pose but
generally relies on Ting's team for direction.
He does, however, have his own opinions on styling.
"He will tell us which items should be stronger and what should
be improved," Ting said.
"He really likes bright, contrasting colors while I prefer more
tone-on-tone combinations. So he gives lots of advice when we try
different combinations, so we have some very different styles."
Since her grandfather became involved, visits to their online
site have increased four-fold and continue to rise.
Liu, who traveled to Shanghai with his daughter for the first
time last week after they were invited to appear on television,
said he had been approached by other companies to model for them
but had turned them down.
"I never dreamed of lucky things like these happening to me.
Now, my name has spread to everywhere in the country," he said.
Ting has been criticized on the Internet and accused of using
her grandfather, but he insists the experience has put a spring in
his step and she says they are now closer than ever.
"We have no firm plans on how long we will continue, it depends
on my grandfather," Ting said. "If he is happy and his health is
fine, we will keep using him as our model."
