Chelsea Roff: 72-Year-Old Grandpa Becomes China’s Next Top Model

While most of America’s top models are tall, slender, perfectly-proportioned young women, China’s most popular fashionista may be one very brave elderly gentleman, Liu Xianping, who has been posing for his granddaughter’s female fashion store on Tmall. In just a few weeks, Mr. XIanping has become an Internet sensation (and when you see the pictures below, you’ll understand why!).

Though most of the clothes Liu has been modeling were designed for slender, sexy young women, the 72-year-old grandfather presents the clothing in a whole new light. According to one blog, “Liu’s confidence in front of the camera are the envy of many girls… And he has such a good figure, especially those legs!”

Xianping’s granddaughter’s store is called Yuekou, and caters mainly to teen girls in China. According to a recent interview with her, Mr. Xinaping’s first foray into modeling was quite spontaneous. He was helping her unpack clothes, when suddenly, “he picked up one piece and tried to give some advice on how to mix and match. We thought it was fun so we started shooting.” According to the granddaughter, most of the clothing combinations featured in the pictures were her grandpa’s ideas. Apparently he has a great sense of style.

When asked about why he’s modeling women’s clothes, this is what Mr. Xianping had to say:

“Why unacceptable (for someone like me) to wear women’s clothes? Modeling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. We were very happy on the day of the shooting. I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy.”

A-friggin-men, Mr. Xianping.

And now Mr. Xianping and his granddaughter have another reason to be happy. The store’s sales have increased 5-fold since the pictures went viral, and reactions from Chinese netizens have been overwhelmingly positive. Commenters call him “cool, open-minded, fun, and extremely stylish.”

No kidding. I wish this was my grandpa.