The elderly's model dream blooms in the new era.

As the generation of the first baby boom shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, a growing number of retirees aged around 60 are enjoying their post-retirement life in pursuit of model dreams that were hardly achieved when they were young.

In the material deprivation when the generation grew up to their 20s or 30s, beauty was repressed as there was little choice for style or color of clothing, while in their middle age after the reform and opening-up, most of them toiled and moiled all days to support the families.

Retirement in the new era offers the elderly a second chance to make their model dream come true.

Although frugality runs in their blood, the aged are willing to get up before daybreak and take more than an hour in subway to make it to the show in time, or have only steamed buns for lunch at the fair. They are generous in reaching into their own pockets to fund the hobbies.

The retirees devote plenty of time and money to make up for the regret when they were young, and they would like to spend thousands of yuan in taking training classes, purchasing various costumes, or flying all over the country for a moment standing on fashion stage.

They don't care whether the stage was set up in the corner next to the bathroom or the younger generation casted quizzical looks at them for their bright-colored attires.

Instead of getting increasingly isolated and out of touch with the society, a group of seniors are adopting a fashionable lifestyle in keeping with the times chasing after the resurgence of life.

The images of these confident elderly models may ease the fear of getting old and encourage more aged people to appreciate that gray hair could also lead fashionable trend.

As China is entering into an aging society, traditional values have been gradually giving way to more liberal ones, and the elderly have the right to live the life they prefer as taking care of grandkids or doing household chores had never been the only fates for the old age.

On the catwalk, what the elderly really want to present is not about the costumes, but themselves; what they really want to please is not about the audiences, but themselves as well.