Model agency in search for aging beauty

A group of 20 models from St. Petersburg, all in their fifties, have taken it upon themselves to prove that beauty is ageless.

The women are not young, but they are photogenic and are in demand. 56-year-old Svetlana Zamyatina worked as an engineer all her life and now she lives on her pension taking care of her family, her flowers and her dacha. She is a typical Russian woman of her age.

But there is something atypical about Svetlana. Recently, she took on a new career.

“I got wings when I thought: I am going to be a model,” Svetlana said.  

Millions of Russian girls dream of becoming a model. Svetlana says she never thought she'd get a chance, especially now that she's passed the fifty mark. She says she is a model not despite of her age, but thanks to it.

Modeling for the first and only Russian agency specialising on talent over 55, Svetlana learned not to hide her years but to be proud of them. Be proactive, is what women of her generation can and should do, she says

“Nobody cares about us, youth gets a head way in everything. And what can we do?  I'm still  a woman and I want to feel like a woman. And at my 56 I want to be beautiful and looked at and I still want to realise myself,” she said.

Like any model, Svetlana barely touches the pastries. But the secret of her beach perfect body is pond dipping, in the summer and winter. And her husband is proudly supportive of Svetlana's new lifestyle.

“I don't know who is luckier then me in this world,” Alexander Alexeev, model's husband, said.

At home they call her 'grandma', but at the agency, they call each other 'girls'.

Choisi took off a year ago, when its owner realised there were so many beautiful women over 55 with not much to do.

Women like Svetlana came there looking for an outlet and company, but at work they are no different from teen models starting up: hair and makeup done, they take to the catwalk. And in front of the camera, the agency photographer says, their drive and endurance is an example for models of all ages.

“They are passionate, driven, fired up. Young models are usually in the business for the money but these women are after new emotions, I love their energy!” Alexander Kornokov, the agency photographer, said.

Even though they feel age discrimination is in other areas of their lives, they say young models are no competition. After all, diamonds and fur just looks better on them.

“Give me young and sexy I used to hear, well, who says the two go together?” Choisi model, Alexandra Otmorskaya, said.

But like any business, modeling has to pay. The owner of Choisi is optimistic despite the fact that the business isn't going as planned.

“It is very hard. I've only been knocking on so many doors that are closed. People are interested in the concept but that is not enough for the business. But I'm sure very soon it will blow up in Russia as well,” agency founder, Galina Gutkovich, said.

Fixed standards, inhuman demands, fierce competition, these women know nothing about that side of the modeling business. They are here because they want to be in the spotlight and because they can. And while the demand for aging beauty is yet to pick up in Russia, this little group is ready to be its pioneers.