Liu Wen









instagrams: benjaminkwanphoto, celia.chenlj, menginchina1989, yohei_tsuchihashi
credits to original owners via xiaohongshu.com & weibo.com
 
If interested and haven’t yet, please vote for Liu Wen. It’s easy and straightforward and if you’re willing. Deadline is Wednesday October 18th 12PM GMT. (You can still vote even if you’re not a UK resident, you just can’t partake/win ticket to attend the live ceremony.) Thank you in advance!

Cast your VOTE here: The Fashion Awards




instagrams: britishfashioncouncil, mimieliteparis, thesocietynyc | fashionawards.com
 
She was on set in London a couple days ago. Can someone ID the stylist please (is it Kate Phelan)? If it’s Phelan then guess it’s possible she’ll appear in VUK in the near future going by Phelan’s recent projects (anything is good tbh). Speaking of VUK… the November issue is not a ‘models’ issue per se, but the majority of the names who land the cover were names I’d think would get it/that I predicted… so hope there’s another issue dedicated to models next year. And the high heavens above grant this wish to her.

Interestingly, Society/Elite, has been quite strong on booking an array of covers across publications for their models (primarily their bigger names) this year – and has been great that Liu Wen was a part of them – so hope they keep pushing and consider her comes the months ahead. She needs this consistency and support. Amber, Mona, Irina, Hoyeon, Kendall, Grace, Adut, and Vittoria are killing it and for years. This year Liu is up there with them… as she should but will this continue. Hope this premier treatment extends. (I don’t know how much say/power/influence she has, and how they all conduct business and possibly politics involved, but wonder if this is where/when Liu would only work if she got an accompany cover. Evidently she only works in China/Asia if she gets a cover almost always. Thus far her western print work mirrors that, so that’s great.) Gotta thanks her sponsors/partners for championing on her behalf too.

She was also spotted in Paris but not sure if something happened. Prior that she was somewhere in China other than Beijing, could be domestic work.



credits via xiaohongshu.com
 
Promoting the Upcoming Chanel Resort 2024 Show in Shenzhen
Ph: Leslie Zhang
Stylist: Katie Burnett








chanel.cn | weibo.com



fanmade via chanel.cn
 
It was stated/rumored that she’s Vogue China’s December star, but gonna take that with a pinch of salt knowing some things were false or didn’t materialize (at least publicly).

If it’s true then that’s great. However, personally would like to see her cover Jan or Feb 2024 (or even the March issue) once runway month rolls in next year. Ideally, she’ll wear Gucci. If it’s not Nick or Zhong Lin then a non-Chinese photog could be a nice breather (Porodina, Moon, Knight, Lacombe, Roversi or even Galiegue, if possible). This planning would commence a healthy, prosperous, great 2024 year for Liu Wen.

On the flip side, she already graced Nov 2020, Nov 2021 and Dec 2022 so hypothetically another December issue back-to-back. While it’s comforting to keep tradition and that Liu gets a VC cover almost annually, but sometimes just think it’s better to be strategic and pace it out hence next year is a more reasonable year (unless she cover Dec 2023 and then a summer/fall 2024 month – then it’s all good). Otherwise, she could’ve covered a summer/fall 2023 month instead Dec 2023. Regardless a cover is a cover and they are willing to give her a cover.

Not that serious because obviously she’s done this before and across other magazine titles too. Just nitpicking and nice to see a variety of months on her resume. And think this is beyond Liu’s control.


Outtakes


instagram/seanandseng | xiaohongshu.com
 


VOGUE CHINA NOVEMBER 2023
‘Liu Wen: The Legend Remains’
Artist: Danny Roberts



instagram/dannyroberts | weibo.com
 
There was also a late insinuation that they switched/scrapped Vogue China’s December cover star (presumably Liu Wen). Felix Cooper’s story could be the replacement(?). Obviously IRDK the truth. But if true then it must’ve been the ‘three months exclusive’ rule that VC enforced where Liu was on MC China/W China.

Interestingly, Kate is a part of VUK December’s issue and would have thought she’d do OG instead. Three more months hoping for models MG covers. Though won’t be surprised if it’s all actors/celebs/musicians going forward. After all VUK already signing off on a high note regarding models = LINDA, CINDY, CHRISTY, NAOMI, ELSON, MONA, IRINA, ADUT, EMILY, ADWOA and KATE. Maybe that’s it.

But why are we waiting on Edward though. Perhaps Liu Wen will get British Vogue under Chioma’s leadership. That’d be such a scoop for Chioma and there’s more potential time.

Guess the Vogue France cover was only a fictitious rumor and had waltz into the abyss. Nada.










weibo.com
 
Didn’t see that coming. Walking Balenciaga and being stealthy. Is Kering still investing in Liu Wen… I mean talk about her recent hair cut too (seems on brand for Balenciaga, just hope that doesn’t alienate her from other potential jobs/brands too, though that could be an easy fix).

If she attends the Fashion Awards then she’s probably going to be in Manchester too, I’d think so.







weibo.com
 


Wishing Wen good luck tonight!

2023 is one of her best years in modeling jobs with leading roles, a true comeback in performances. She definitely worked like a tsunami wave.

With over 30 ad campaigns ranging from Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Versace, Bulgari, L’Oreal, Olay and Gucci; 35 runway appearances with 1 opening and 6 closings; a dozen of covers appearing on American Vogue, W Magazine, Pop, and Chinese editions of WSJ, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, T Magazine and W. And back in the public spotlight at Oscar’s Vanity Fair and among Met Ball’s best dressed.

She brought it. She served. There for the weeks. Turned up the heat. Left no crumbs. No complaints. Despite the grueling miles. Only mega smiles. She slayed. She stayed.




instagram/elitemodelworld | weibo.com
 
Am genuinely shocked that she wasn’t present at the awards ceremony. Regardless of if she was gonna win or not, just that the hype, anticipation, timing and the nomination itself felt so monumentally real and exciting (at least that was my perception) that this moment was supposed to be celebratory by showing up. Of course not everyone can make it… understandably could be a scheduling issue.

Anyway, this recognition was already a win (we know she made her impact years ago).


On a similar note: she missed China’s Vogue, Bazaar, Elle, T Magazine, etc. events recently. She usually show up at a couple of these end of the year gatherings. She was mostly in China but probably different city. Hypothetically she was preoccupied, would think so.

Wonder if she stopped by NYC prior arriving to LA. After all she was rather quiet (as she should be for a variety of good reasons) and again, am bemused because Liu would choose to walk Balenciaga and not attend Fashion Awards – isn’t that kinda crazy when her name is in the headline and this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity – makes sense if Kering/Balenciaga had offered a deal and she must partake, or her management wants to further this association/had agreement (but out of all brands, why Balenciaga though?, if no future campaign then it has to be the big paycheck and an active role?, speculate her BV, Givenchy, Gucci relation may expire soon hence the shopping). Not sure. Could be wrong.

Just interesting all around. Overall, believe she was simply busy and booked in advance and time constraints. Priorities. Compromise. E22


Well she’s already gone home and on her way to Shanghai. Probably means no Manchester too.





Paloma Elsesser, Liu Wen And Kai-Isaiah Jamal Get Candid On The State Of Diversity And Inclusion In Modelling

By Daniel Rodgers
4 December 2023


Earlier this year – just as initial reports were breaking that [insert newly thin Hollywood star here] had been prescribed Ozempic – I heard a former colleague mention that an influential fashion publicist had tasked themselves with acquiring the controversial (and unofficial) weight loss drug from the States, and was passing it onto their peers in London and Paris. If true, it was the most explicit example of regression in action to have entered into insider discourse in a long time. Rumours like this – teamed with a downward spiral in the number of plus-sized models at fashion week – saw some of the most esteemed journalists in fashion speculating on the so-called return of size zero. With good reason: less than one per cent of models across the spring/summer 2024 shows were plus-size.

But reports that fashion had made a cataclysmic backslide were a little inflated. Yes, previous seasons had taken small steps towards inclusion – the autumn/winter 2023 season featured 3.4 per cent more models above a size four, while The Fashion Spot reported that five percent of spots on the New York runways went to plus-size models for spring 2023 – but it hadn’t yet become the industry default. And that’s without mentioning the specific prejudices facing POC, disabled and trans models – on which there is even less data. But we don’t need statistics and well-intentioned bar graphs to tell us this. High-fashion – much like culture as a whole – has long maintained staid notions of what it means to be and look luxurious: ie, white and thin and cisgendered. And so, when a model does happen to break through the glass – or concrete – ceiling, there is that much more reason to celebrate their success.

Tonight, the public will crown either Paloma Elsesser, Anok Yai, Liu Wen, Alton Mason, Mona Tougaard, or Kai-Isaiah Jamal as the Model of the Year at the 2023 Fashion Awards, the British Fashion Council’s most diverse line-up of nominees yet. “My ‘beauty’ interrogates what we know to be the rule in fashion,” Elsesser says. “So while I reap many privileges in the world as a ‘beautiful person’ my beauty in the industry always has to be qualified. There has been a positive shift, for sure, but there is still so much work to be done. I feel grateful to be included in the fabric of so many designers’ efforts to reflect inclusion.” Among these brands are Sinéad O’Dwyer, Ester Manas, Karoline Vitto and Collina Strada, who are duly positioning non-standard models as figures of aspiration, which should give pause to tentpole houses that have more than enough resources – time, staff, funding – to do the same.

But progress, as we all know, does not stop at representation. Are the clothes worn by curve models even put into production? How diverse are the ateliers and leadership teams? Are diverse casting practices inclusive of people with non-Eurocentric features or without “hourglass” bodies or those who use wheelchairs? Are there wheelchair ramps at fashion shows? “For me, one of the biggest issues is that people want to appear as if they are doing the work without doing the uncomfortable unlearning and relearning which will create revolutionary change,” Jamal explains. “I would like to see more marginalised people in top positions (CEOs, designers, creative directors) who can actually implement and create an inclusive community that is authentic and organic. Now more than ever we have seen that fashion cannot be and should never be seen as ‘apolitical’ – we are the people who hold power.”

Below, Liu Wen, Paloma Elsesser and Kai-Isaiah Jamal join Vogue for a roundtable discussion: speaking on their own routes into modelling, the progress that has been made, and the steps yet to be taken.


At what age were you first scouted? Did you have to be persuaded to follow through with it?

Liu Wen: It has been more than a decade since my discovery. I accidentally walked into this industry because of my height. I was quite naïve at the time, but I was lucky to have met so many supportive and encouraging people who boosted my confidence about working in the business. The late Joseph Carle – Marie Claire China’s editor at the time – could be considered my scout. Under his guidance, I was able to step onto international catwalks and start to understand the true allure of this job. Though I was lacking in many ways – English skills, adjustment to tight schedules, stress over countless time zone changes due to travel – I slowly confronted each issue one by one. To get through all of that and to still be working today is all because of that support system, and I’m still moving along on this path.

How does it feel to be considered a very beautiful person? Does it affect the way you view yourself?

Liu: I’ve never considered myself as someone very beautiful. It’s only the career of a “model” that conveys and sculpts what beauty can be. The more people are able to witness my work and understand all sides of me, the more I can help communicate my personal understanding of beauty. Perhaps, when you’re dubbed beautiful on the outside, there are some advantages, but those advantages are not the only factors that determine a person’s worth.

What has been your career highlight so far? What was so great about that moment?

Liu: It’s hard to pinpoint a specific job or moment as a highlight. Everything in its entirety has moulded me into who I am today. Of course, there are some extremely memorable moments: shooting a Vogue cover that helped me grow both career-wise and as a person, becoming Chanel’s global ambassador was a dream come true, and doing many shows and campaigns that helped my overall exposure. Those are all times I cherish, as you never know if you’ll get to experience them again. This kind of life involves joy, anxiety, uncertainty and disappointment, but it’s ultimately an education.

Have you felt inclusion and diversity shift in a positive direction since you first started?

Liu: As time progresses around us, society is also improving and becoming more conscious. The modelling industry is just one part of these ongoing movements. I’m very grateful to be growing alongside everyone in the business, where the understanding and acceptance of each other have created stronger mutual respect. More and more, we’re seeing many different interpretations of “a model” on the fashion stage, and designers have also been able to dig deeper into their creative centres to redefine beauty – which in turn becomes digested by the global audience. These changes are the efforts of a collective, but our desires for in-depth, personal expression may require longer journeys to manifest. We need everyone’s invested effort to achieve that.

Lots of people think we are beginning to backslide. Would you agree? If so, what do you think needs to be done to address this?

Liu: I think everyone will have a different viewpoint on this, because our personal experiences and the way we interpret them differ. The more voices that sound, the more one gains perspective, so we should try to view things through multiple contexts. The more someone can improve their knowledge through cultural touchpoints, the more we gain mutual acceptance.

And finally, what would you like to be remembered for within fashion?

Liu: I don’t really wish to be remembered. In the end, everything I’ve worked on is the result of a creative team’s collaboration, and I’m only playing one role within it. I’d rather remain a canvas for others to leave their artistic marks on, because I have been formed by that process and I continue to transform. Modelling is my career, and when I leave the job, I’ll return to being a regular person again. Until that happens, I only wish to perform at my best, be courageous in my own creativity, and live a colourful life through it all.
vogue.co.uk | weibo.com
 
Chanel Resort 2024 Reshow – Shenzhen
November 2, 2023
















instagram/chanelofficial
credits to original owners via xiaohongshu.com and weibo.com
 







instagrams: brokengalerie & myfacewheno_o
credits to original owners via xiaohongshu.com & weibo.com
 
Liu Wen is nominated as 2023 Model of the Year on models.com.

If MDC were to bring back ‘Comeback of the Year’ then there’s a stronger case for her, and could possibly win that category (even though Liu technically never hibernated these past covid years).


Never mind. Think the Balenciaga arrangement set in place prior HC, then RTW now Pre-Fall (duh, so it’s not that weird that she walked). Nothing against Balenciaga just didn’t think she’d suit their aesthetic (hence my observation with the side hair bangs being ‘on brand’ even though she’d debut that cut for a month… she’s adapting).

Was this management or her decision. Interested if she keeps this look for FW24 season.










xiaohongshu.com | weibo.com
 
VOGUE CHINA DECEMBER 2023
‘Life Imitates Art’
Artist: Chen Ke
In the eyes of artist Chen Ke, supermodel Liu Wen has the perseverance of a female warrior. Therefore, among her many fashion works, Chen Ke selected a photo by Ren Haihua in Vogue+ in which Liu’s image exactly matches her impression. “It’s consistent with the female warriors and heroines who has power in the movies. In addition, the metal accessories and the shape of the clothing have a futuristic feel, as if they are the fusion of humans and machines, and have strong characteristics of the times.” With such powerful visual expression, she finally chose to use this model, Liu Wen, to depict an Asian female face with global influence. “After paying attention to a lot of Liu’s pictures, I feel her sunny, independent, and inner-strong female charm. The final portrait selected not only showcase Liu’s own personality traits, but also match mine. The expression of the painting is consistent. I outline the female values that I admire: the right to choose, the elimination of weakness, independence and creativity.”​




From Vogue+ April 2023












Never posted







all weibo.com
 
Pradasphere ll Exhibition - Shanghai
December 6, 2023









credits to original owners via xiaohongshu.com & weibo.com
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

New Posts

Forum Statistics

Threads
210,840
Messages
15,130,986
Members
84,615
Latest member
Xunlaibong
Back
Top
monitoring_string = "058526dd2635cb6818386bfd373b82a4"
<-- Admiral -->