It’s her nine-year modeling career. Chinese beauty Liu Wen has crammed as many firsts. In 2009, she became the first Asian face to walk in a Victoria’s Secret fashion show. She followed that up two years later by becoming the first Asian to front a campaign for American makeup brand Estee Lauder. More recently, she was also the first Asian to make Forbes’ highest-paid models list – for 2013, she raked in US$4.3 million, just a little less than Kate Moss, Miranda Kerr, Adriana Lima and Gisele Bundchen.
Standing at a statuesque 1.79m and blessed with slender proportions. Wen has delicate Oriental features and a porcelain-fair and flawless complexion. Such physical attributes have stood her in good stand in the fiercely competitive world of modeling.
One of China’s brightest runway stars, the Beijing native catapulted to international fame when she landed slots for the Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2009 shows. She’s since cemented her popularity among fashion houses with appearances on the runways of New York, Milan and Paris. Her professional work ethic also means fashion photographers such as Patrick Demarchelier, Terry Richardson and Daniel Jackson love working with her.
The 27-year-old is admired by women the world over for her off-duty style that mixes innocence and elegance. The near-million followers on her instagram @liuwen can attest to her knack at rocking the classics. Never mind that Wen has walked a galore of shows for Fashion Weeks stalwarts as diverse as Calvin Klein, Dior, Gucci, Prada, Celine and Saint Laurent. Her approach is grounded and refreshingly relatable – for hopping between shows especially; she relies on a wardrobe of versatile basics, then load up on difference styles. For her first casting with Vogue magazine, she turned up in jeans, T-shirt and sneakers; unlike many who would have dressed to impress. Wen said she preferred to be comfortable and confident.
Contrary to her long, black silky hair that she often lets free, Wen’s dressing is inclined towards tomboy-chic. Although she steers clear of bold hues, she opts for a clean silhouette. For example, when dealing with long sleeves, Wen keeps her look more rugged by surrounding the sleeves. For the red carpet, those streamlined ensembles she favors are polished up with the right shoes as well as makeup.
When it comes to makeup, Wen possesses an adventurous spirit. For one, she understands her best features and is unafraid to play them up, “I really love a bold lip. It’s the first thing the eye sees. I always focus on other people’s lips, so a lipstick for me is very important. I love red. I think red really fits Asian people because it complements our skin and hair,” says this sassy [lais?] who was nicknamed “Mulan” in school.
Indeed, Wen, who joined a modeling contest so she could win the top prize of a computer (she didn’t win), has gained so much more. She is an inspiration for both fashion leaders and fashionistas. Wen understands this perfectly, and tapping it to uncover new aspects of her status as a role model. “Now I’m slowly hearing how to dress more alluringly,” she says. “Fashion is about versatility, after all.”
Thanks to Sims, we probably would only get to see Liu in the pages of VP... and this should be her second appearance - the first, shot by Sims too.
