Brazilian grandmother turns lingerie model to make older women visible

A 79-year-old-woman has turned model for lingeries in Brazil posing for photoshoots featuring her latest lingerie designs for women over 60. Schargel emerged from retirement more than two years ago on a mission to drag older women out of obscurity. She has been working in the fabric company for several decades and that is how she got into fashion. By now, she has launched several underwear collections with Brazil's Recco Lingerie. 

Speaking to the media, Schargel told that her project's goal is to make women visible.

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Schargel's projects

She said that besides Recco, she is also working for an activewear line with the company Alto Giro which was unveiled this year and more are in the works. Schargel claims that Brazilian women over 60 have long been overlooked by fashion companies, society and even themselves. With her recent initiative, Schargel made her debut on Instagram where she has nearly 18,000 mainly women followers, of all ages. Captions such as "take a risk" and "you can do anything" pepper her feed, which receive hundreds, sometimes thousands, of likes and comments.

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Schargel doesn't need any gym!

Schargel, the daughter of Polish immigrants, began making clothes as a teenager and selling them in her parents' store. She got married twice and has two children and five grandchildren, some of whom wear her designs. She told the media that retirement didn't suit her. Schargel thinks that plastic surgery is madness and that she has never thought about her age to date. She went on to say that it was only a few years ago that she is not 33 anymore! The septuagenarian shocked her interviewers by revealing that she doesn't need to go to the gym to maintain her body. All she does is a couple of pilates three times a week, for her fitness.

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Reminds of life after 60

Vogue Brazil editor-in-chief Paula Merlo noted that Schargel's decision to model lingerie was daring in a macho country where older women are treated as if they "are not alive anymore". Merlo adds that Schargel reminds that there is a life after 60, 70 and it can be sexy, it can be fun and it can also be profitable. Moreover, the granny turned model says she feels comfortable stripping to her underwear in public. She even insists on no photoshopping. She wants them to show her wrinkles so that people realize her motive and how she got there. 

In her conclusive statement, Schargel said that 20-30 years from now there will be a lot of grannies that she is preparing the world for them.

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(With inputs from agencies)