Princess of China
Liu Wen is Asia’s answer to Cara Delevingne, with 9m followers and a cool £4.5m in earnings. Is she the future face of fashion, asks Clare Pennington
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Growing up in Hunan province, the home of pig-rearing in China, Liu Wen never imagined she might become China’s most sought-after supermodel. She didn’t even know what a supermodel was. “It took me a while to learn about fashion,” she says. “I had to study.” Her home town was a place where luxury labels were entirely unknown. “To us, there was no such thing as Louis Vuitton. When I was younger, I would never have understood why someone would want to actually possess these things. Most people from Yongzhou will buy a cheap bag and be happy with it. I had a lot to learn about the history, craftsmanship and art that goes into fashion.”
As a lanky teen, she would stoop to disguise her 5ft 10in height and was more interested in “boyish” things such as sport than dressing up. “I was a tomboy,” she says on a stopover in London. “When I was 16, my mum wanted me to enter a modelling competition because she hoped it would make me more girly.” In 2005, she competed in the New Silk Road World Model Contest. She didn’t win, but she did catch the attention of international model agents. Three years later, she was on the catwalks in Milan, Paris and New York. She became the first Chinese model to walk for Victoria’s Secret, has appeared on five international Vogue covers, has an online TV show in China and is looking at launching a fashion line of androgynous tops and jumpers. According to Forbes, she was one of the 10 highest-paid models of 2014, grossing £4.5m. She may no longer be the only Chinese supermodel — backstage at shows she hangs out with Xiao Wen Ju, Fei Fei Sun and Qin Shu Pei — but she is the most successful
Now aged 27, Liu is very famous indeed. In Asia, she’s bigger than Cara Delevingne and has nearly 9m followers on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. When she attended a Burberry show in Shanghai last year, hordes of fans who knew nothing about the label turned up just to catch a glimpse of Liu. Given her reach in the growing Asian market, it’s no wonder that global brands such as Burberry are clamouring to work with her. Another triumph may be in the offing. Asked about a potential deal to model for Apple (well, she did appear on the cover of Chinese Vogue wearing an Apple Watch), she squeals: “How did you figure that out?” She could not comment on whether she might become the first supermodel to officially represent the brand. “But I hope so, because I think the digital world is really in touch with fashion.” For Apple, which was recently ranked as China’s most desirable luxury brand, bringing in Liu Wen looks like a no-brainer.
It’s all a long way from Yongzhou. “Everyone wants to hear that I came from somewhere really poor,” she says, narrowing her eyes in irritation. “It wasn’t like that. Yes, my father was a construction worker, but we had a modern home in a nice town. He wasn’t going to other cities to work, not like really poor workers.” Despite her wealth, she says life hasn’t changed that much, and she still has to wrap up warm when she visits her family. “We didn’t have indoor heating, but everyone in the south is used to that. You just dress in warm clothes in the winter. I still have to every time I go back, even if I’m rich now.”
However, she is grateful to have money so she can give something back to her parents. She bought her dad a car (she won’t reveal what make) and then a new family home. She is particularly proud of organising a photoshoot for their wedding anniversary, “because they never had the opportunity to take real wedding pictures”. Soon she has her phone in her hand and is flicking through photos of her parents riding elephants during a recent holiday in Thailand. As a product of China’s one-child policy, she takes her responsibilities towards her parents seriously. She even brings them on photoshoots sometimes simply to spend extra time with them.
It’s great that her fame allows that, she says with a smile, because her packed schedule allows little time for socialising. “People think you just walk around, have some beautiful pictures taken and make lots of money. But I live out of a suitcase, and during the fashion weeks we probably don’t get more than 20 hours’ sleep. This is no easy job, if you take it seriously.” She even uses self-help books to deal with the stress, and has no time for love. “I still don’t have a boyfriend, even if I meet a lot of boys,” she says, recalling a recent shoot for a Chinese magazine’s Valentine’s Day cover. “Given how much I travel, it would have to be real love, I guess, but I haven’t found that yet.” Love will have to wait.
throw us a bone and give her a louis vuitton campaign! 
) 
Just the best for her. 
Cute.
I do remember seeing Sissi in an Apple Watch ad shot by Sims so maybe there's more to it? Liu fronting it the ad would be best choice for Apple because they plan on tapping into China's market and why not have one of their biggest models front it.
