When we think of some of the beauty standards that are generally accepted in the fashion industry today, we think of a cage. People of a certain age, appearance and even behavior have to follow a lot of rules if they want to work in the fashion industry. These rules are starting to be really hard on society as a whole. Because of this, it’s always good to hear that preconceived ideas have been proven wrong again and that some models have the guts to challenge the fashion industry as a whole. Hiptoro wants you to learn about Rosa Saito, a 71-year-old fashion model. Rosa Saito shows everyone that age is just a number and not a measure of how beautiful or talented someone is.
She didn’t start working as a model until much later in her life.
At the time, Rosa Saito was 68 years old, had white hair, and was very talented in the arts. She suddenly realized that being a model would be her dream job, so she went after it. Her real name is Setsuko Saito, but on her Instagram account, she goes by the name Rosa so it is easier to say.
Even though she was only 1.68 meters tall and knew very little about modeling at the time, that wasn’t enough to stop her from doing well in this field. Her willingness to try new things was the single most important thing that led to her success. It was even the reason she went to Sao Paulo Fashion Week.
Rosa Saito has always cared a lot about how she looks, even when she was a young girl.
Rosa Saito was born in So Paulo, in the city of Aracatuba. She became interested in singing, drawing, and writing soon after she realized as a young child that she had a creative talent. She had always been a very creative child, so it was only natural that she would eventually connect her life to something very beautiful.
I always knew I was going to pursue something creative, something I could invent. Everything I do I take to that side,
she says.
Rosa Saito got into modeling in an unexpected manner, and the chance she got was a stroke of luck.
Before she became a model, Rosa Saito went through a lot of hard times and lost people close to her. When she was 22, she took care of her sick mother while she was in bed. Then, when she had three children, she had to be both a mother and a father to them because she had lost her husband in 2000. But she did have one thing that made her happy: taking care of the plants in her home. She could do her daily meditation practice because they were there.
“It is important to seek and find yourself. And my moment of peace is with them (plants). I go to my garden and talk to them,
she says.
Before she was approached by people in the modeling industry, she had never thought about becoming a model. After being asked a total of three times, she finally started to think about taking part in the activity.
Twice it was by professionals from the Mega modeling agency and once by a photographer. I let the idea mature for a year, after all, it had costs too, it wasn’t something I was going to get into just like that, blindly. Until I decided to take the risk,
she recalls.
Rosa’s life is going so well right now that she wants to share some thoughts with all of her fans.
Rosa Saito was raised in a very natural way, and she was never even given an aspirin as a child.
It was all based on tea, and in my essence, I am like that, kind of against everything that is chemistry. So I always took care of myself with aloe, coconut oil, olive oil,
she says.
But being in touch with one’s own identity is seen as the most important thing.
The beauty itself is in really taking care of your thoughts, your spirituality. The person can become beautiful, captivating, friendly, this is much more than the beauty all stretched and perfect. It’s the content that counts, in my opinion,
says Rosa.
Even though she thinks the beauty industry’s standards are too high, there is still room for improvement.
I feel that slowly we are changing. People are living longer, taking care of themselves more and companies really need to open up more in that sense and visualize these potential customers.
What do you think about everything that happened with Rosa Saito? Would you ever think about becoming a model when you are her age as she did?