A grandmother in rural Zambia has become a style icon and internet sensation – after agreeing to play dress-up and swapping outfits with her fashionista granddaughter.
Margret Chola, who is in her mid-80s, is known to the world as “Legendary Glamma” – and adored by 225,000 Instagram followers for her striking and playful fashion photographs.
The fortnightly Granny Series was created in 2023 by her granddaughter Diana Kaumba, a stylist who is based in New York City.
She came up with the idea when she was visiting Zambia to mark the second anniversary of the death of her father – the person she says inspired her passion for fashion because he always dressed well.
During that visit Ms Kaumba had not worn all her carefully curated outfits, so she asked her grandmother – or “Mbuya” in the Bemba language – if she wanted to try them on.
That natural habitat is a farm in the village of 10 Miles, just north of the Zambian capital, Lusaka.
Most often Ms Chola is photographed in all her glamour outside – often sitting on an elegant wooden chair or lounging on a leather sofa.
In the background are exposed brick buildings with corrugated iron roofs, ploughed fields, mango trees and maize crops.
It was in April 2024 that the Granny Series really took off – after Ms Kaumba posted a series of photos of her grandmother in a red Adidas dress, several chunky, golden necklaces and a glittering jewelled crown.
Ms Chola poses in clothes that are a mix of vibrant colours, textures and styles.
From a green American football jersey, combined with a layered frilly red dress styled as a skirt – in the colours of the Zambian flag to pay homage to 60 years of independence.
To a blue, black and green sequined top, complete with a golden snake necklace and bracelet.
Ms Kaumba, who has been a stylist since 2012, says that her grandma has “courage, grace – and nails every look”.
All the looks reflect her maximalist-chic aesthetic – which celebrates the joy of excess, eclectic combinations, the big and the bold, and clashing patterns and colours.
At the heart of it all are eye-catching accessories – bold sunglasses, oversized hats, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings, gloves, bags, blonde wigs, crowns.
That influence has come directly from her grandmother, who has “always been a lover of pearls and bangles”.
In one particularly playful scene called GOAT – short for greatest of all time – Ms Chola appears with a goat – that is decked out in Mbuya’s beloved pearls.
Or she’s clutching an “ibende” – a long wooden stick that over the years she has used to pound millet or cassava or maize.
She is smoking a pipe or holding a metal cup full of tea, and hanging off the edge of the chair arm is an “mbaula” or charcoal brazier that Zambians often use for cooking – especially now that the country is plagued by severe power cuts.
Ms Kaumba hopes that the Granny Series will highlight that older people still have a lot to offer – and making memories together is an important way to “leave footprints for the next generation”.
As a result of Mbuya’s photo shoots, Ms Kaumba’s been hired by four granddaughters to style their grandmothers – aged between 70 and 96.
Ms Chola hopes that the Granny Series will inspire people “to live their lives and not worry about being judged by society”.
She urges people to “always forgive yourself for whatever mistakes you made. You can never change your past – but you can change your future”.
The photo shoots have brought granddaughter and grandmother closer – and through their special bond Ms Kaumba has learnt so much more about her Mbuya’s often difficult life.
Ms Chola was raised by her grandparents, went to school until she was 12 or 13 and then, because of economic reasons, was forced to marry a man in his 30s.
She had three children, ended up drinking heavily and eventually escaped the marriage.
The charcoal brazier is something all Zambians will recognise these days because of the power cuts plaguing the country at the moment
That trauma still haunts her – but her unexpected global fame has given her a new lease on life.
“I’m now able to wake up with a purpose knowing that people around the world love to see me,” Chola says.
