How Margret Chola from Zambia became a fashion star

A rural Zambian grandmother has become a style star and internet celebrity – after she agreed to play dress-up and swap clothes with her fashionable granddaughter.

Margret Chola, in her 80s, is known worldwide as the “Legendary Glamma” – and is adored by 225,000 Instagram followers for her amazing and playful fashion pictures.

“I feel different, I feel new and alive in these clothes, like I’ve never felt before,” Ms Chola told the BBC. “I feel like I can conquer the world!”

The bi-weekly Granny Series was founded in 2023 by her granddaughter Diana Kaumba, a stylist based in New York City.

He came up with this trick when he visited Zambia to celebrate the second anniversary of his father’s death – the person he says inspired him to love fashion because he was always well dressed.

During that trip Ms Kaumba hadn’t worn all her carefully selected clothes, so she asked her grandmother – or “Mbuya” in the Bemba language – if she wanted to try them on.

“I wasn’t doing anything at the time, so I just said: ‘Okay. If that’s what you want to do, let’s do it – why?'” Ms Chola said.

“You will remember me when I die, at least this way you will remember me.”

Ms Kaumba was wearing a Mbuya top and a “chitenge” – a patterned cloth wrapped around her waist. And Mbuya’s first outfit was a silver trouser suit.

“I thought it would be good to dress Mbuya in fashion and photograph him in his natural environment,” Ms Kaumba told the BBC.

That natural setting is a farm in the village of 10 Miles, just north of the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

Most of the time Ms Chola is photographed in all her beauty outdoors – usually sitting on a beautiful wooden chair or reclining on a leather sofa.

In the background are open brick buildings with tiled roofs, cultivated fields, mango trees and corn fields.

“I was scared when I posted that first photo. I left my phone for 10 minutes and in those 10 minutes there were 1,000 likes,” Ms Kaumba said.

“My mind is broken. Talks were flying and people were asking for more.”

It was in April 2024 that the Granny Series really began – after Ms Kaumba posted a series of photos of her grandmother wearing a red Adidas dress, several necklaces, gold necklaces and a sparkling crown of jewellery.

“I was surprised to hear that many people in the world love me,” said Ms. Chola – who does not know her exact age because she does not have a birth certificate.

“I didn’t know I could make such an impact at this age.”

Ms. Chola is standing dressed in a mix of bright colors, designs and styles.

From a green American football jersey, combined with a red layered dress made of a skirt – in the colors of the Zambian flag to honor 60 years of independence.

Blue, black and green stitched top, complete with snake necklace and bracelet.

And Mbuya’s own favorite – jeans, a graphic t-shirt with her image on the front and a blonde wig.

“I had never worn jeans or a wig before – so I was excited, and I was dancing.”

Ms Kaumba, who has been a stylist since 2012, says her grandmother is “brave, kind – and she does all the nails”.

Every look reflects her maximalist-chic aesthetic – which celebrates the joy of excess, eclectic combinations, big and bold, and clashing patterns and colors.

At the heart of it all are attractive accessories – bright sunglasses, big hats, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings, gloves, bags, blonde wigs, crowns.

That influence came directly from her grandmother, who “always loved pearls and bangles”.

In a very sweet scene called IMBUZI – short for the greatest of all – Mrs Chola comes with a goat – decorated with Mbuya’s favorite pearls.

Other accessories also reflect Chola’s personality and story.

In other shots, Mbuya carries his favorite radio all day and sleeps with him.

Or he is carrying a “spleen” – a long wooden stick that in years past he used to pound millet or cassava or corn.

He smokes a pipe or holds a metal cup full of tea, and on the edge of the arm of the chair is a “mbaula” or charcoal brazier that Zambians often use for cooking – especially since the country is plagued by severe power cuts.

Ms Kaumba hopes 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”.

“Don’t turn them off, just love them until the end because remember we will be like them one day.”

Due to Mbuya’s photo shoot, Ms Kaumba was hired by her four grandchildren to groom their grandmother – 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”.

He urges people to “always forgive yourself for any mistakes you make. You can never change your past – but you can change your future”.

Photography has brought grandson and grandmother closer together – and through their special relationship Mrs Kaumba has learned a lot about her Grandfather’s often difficult life.

Ms. Chola was raised by her grandparents, she went to school until she was 12 or 13 years old, then because of the economy she was forced to marry a 30-year-old man.

She had three children, ended up drinking too much and eventually escaped marriage.

That trauma still haunts him – but his unexpected international fame has given him a lease on life.

“Now I can wake up with purpose knowing that people all over the world like to see me,” said Chola.

Penny Dale is a freelance journalist, podcast and documentary maker based in London.