The new face of a Chinese clothing brand has the teeny-tiny physique every model hopes for, an arsenal of sassy, hand-on-hip poses and an undeniable talent for modeling teen girls’ clothing. The only catch: he’s a 72-year-old Chinese grandfather.
Liu Xianping is the reason why Yuekou, an online boutique on Tmall, one of China’s top retailers, is suddenly attracting thousands of shoppers from around the world. He’s the grandfather of one “Ms. Lu,” one of five recent college grads who started the e-retail website in May. The site shills an assortment of tweeny, vaguely Blair Waldorfy dresses, sweaters and coats. According to Ms. Lu, Xianping’s modeling career took off after watching his granddaughter unpack a new shipment of clothing and voicing a few fashion opinions of his own. “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,” Lu told China Newsweek.
Then came the incredible photoshoots, with Xianping posing in an array of outfits for teen girls. With all the prim confidence of an Upper East Side princess, Xianping rocks a variety of furry pink scarves, white-rimmed aviators, wigs and red knee-high socks with an incredible amount of sass—which has reportedly quintupled sales for the website.
For his part, Xianping is unperturbed by the commotion surrounding his modeling debut. “Why unacceptable (for someone like me to wear women’s clothes)?” he asked. “Modeling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. I’m very old and all I care about is to be happy.”
