Age is just a number for China's senior catwalk models

Wearing a bright floral ensemble and short hair dyed blonde, Chinese model Ma Yinhong struts a Shanghai catwalk with a style and swagger that belie her 56 years.

She made her modeling debut just two years ago and is already working for leading fashion brands.

Ma is one of a growing number of older models sought after by Chinese and international labels trying to court the country's growing faction of "silver spenders".

She seems to embody this target market of older Chinese, who are spending more on themselves.

"I never go out without dressing up and getting made up. I never let myself look like an old granny," Ma said at a recent show for Uooyaa, which used a mix of younger Chinese and foreign models, as well as seniors.

Once confined largely to life insurance and healthcare ads, glamorous Chinese seniors are in demand for high fashion today.

"They save me as 'best for last' in fashion shows after young models, so I am quite visible," Ma says.

By 2050, one in three people in China, or 487 million people, will be over the age of 60-more than the population of the United States-according to Xinhua News Agency.

This graying population, combined with rising incomes and living standards, means an explosion in consumption by China's elderly is forecast in coming decades.

Once expected to selflessly stay home and mind the grandchildren, seniors-particularly women-have become a coveted market for products like clothing, fashion accessories, cosmetics and travel, according to consumer-research firm Mintel.

Silver spenders

Portraying older models in active, youthful lifestyles sells well in a culture with a strong tradition of respect and deference toward elders, part-time model Liu Wei says.

"A sense of sophistication can show in the facial expressions of seniors," explains the 52-year-old.