Liu Wen

Photos of Givenchy Spring 2011 Haute Couture Collection
Givenchy

Riccardo Tisci Casts Only Asian Models to Show Japanese-Infused Spring 2011 Givenchy Couture Collection

>> Now that Givenchy's couture presentations are intimate and without the hoopla of a fashion show, Riccardo Tisci has decreased the number of dresses per collection produced — this time, there were only ten.
by

>> Now that Givenchy's couture presentations are intimate and without the hoopla of a fashion show, Riccardo Tisci has decreased the number of dresses per collection produced — this time, there were only ten. But that doesn't mean there's a lack of drama. Inspired by Japanese robot toys and Kazuo Ohno (the legendary Japanese Butoh dancer who Tisci met through a mutual friend), the collection is pastel in front with shocks of brighter color in the back — like with Pre-Fall, Tisci has left his usual black-based palette behind. One dress, with hand-dyed and hand-cut matte sequins, took 4,000 hours of handwork to assemble. And as for the model cast, Tisci went completely Asian, with Chinese (Ming Xi, Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin, Sun Fei Fei, Du Juan, Jiang Xiao Yi), Japanese (Ai Tominaga, Tao Okamoto) and Korean (Hye Rim Park, So Young Kang) all represented.

 

 

View 22 Photos
Joan Smalls Joins Estee Lauder Stable
Estee Lauder

Joan Smalls Joins Estee Lauder Stable

>> At the end of last week, Puerto Rican-born model Joan Smalls became the third new model signed by Estee Lauder this year; she joins Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen, who were welcomed by the brand in April, and long-term Lauder faces Carolyn Murphy, Hilary Rhoda, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Elizabeth Hurley.
by

>> At the end of last week, Puerto Rican-born model Joan Smalls became the third new model signed by Estee Lauder this year; she joins Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen, who were welcomed by the brand in April, and long-term Lauder faces Carolyn Murphy, Hilary Rhoda, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Elizabeth Hurley.

Last Monday and Tuesday, Smalls, Jablonski, and Wen filmed a television commercial for Lauder in New York — Vogue has a couple of pictures on set. Smalls is the first black face of the brand since Liya Kebede's contract ended in 2008, and her global campaigns debut in May 2011. She told Vogue: “When I found out, I was in my hotel room in Milan during Fashion Week. I started jumping on the bed like a little girl. The hardest part was keeping it secret — even from my parents.”

Liu Wen and Taylor Swift Debut Beauty Ads, Plus More News
Link Time

Link Time: Liu Wen and Taylor Swift Reveal New Beauty Campaigns

by

Givenchy Tried to Cast Adriana Lima for Runway Show at Four Months Pregnant; Roland Mouret "Would Never Do a Diffusion Line"
Harper's Bazaar

Givenchy Tried to Cast Adriana Lima for Runway Show at Four Months Pregnant; Roland Mouret "Would Never Do a Diffusion Line"

Givenchy called Adriana Lima when she was four months pregnant to walk in their Spring 2010 show, she says: "They take my measurements and I’m like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, I'm big!'
by

  • Givenchy called Adriana Lima when she was four months pregnant to walk in their Spring 2010 show, she says: "They take my measurements and I’m like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, I'm big!' And then they say, 'You’re not big enough!' Because they wanted to see the belly." [The Cut]
  • Roland Mouret is anti-diffusion line: “I would never do a diffusion line. I don’t think the future is that. People mix brands all the time already, so you need to do something else. We are living in a different fashion world now.” [Style File]
  • Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn spent some quality time together yesterday, Kloss Tweeted: "Lovely day in London w/bff ms.dunn...lunch at Claridges, shopping at Selfridges, and now off to the eurostar...goodbye london hello paris!" [@karlie_kloss]
  • Street style favorite and Harper's Bazaar senior fashion market editor Joanna Hillman is documenting her style daily during December for the magazine's blog [Harper's Bazaar]
  • Gap's Spring 2011 faces include Anja Rubik, Liu Wen, Anais Mali, Carolyn Murphy, Karmen Pedaru, and Monika "Jac" Jagaciak [TFS]
  • Talon cuff fans: Pamela Love just launched an online store [Pamela Love]
  • Peek Naty Chabanenko in Cushnie et Ochs's new Spring 2011 lookbook (pictured) [Refinery29]
  • Cathy Horyn takes an in-depth look at Chinese couturier Guo Pei as part of Sally Singer's first issue of T, which is slowing leaking online [T]
The Rise of the Asian Model — A Moment or a Movement?
Vogue

The Rise of the Asian Model — A Moment or a Movement?

>> Is the current rise of Asian models a moment or a movement?
by

>> Is the current rise of Asian models a moment or a movement? The latter, Kwok Chan, director of international scouting at Marilyn Agency (which represents Liu Wen), tells Vogue in its December 2010 issue. Curiously, of all the most in-demand Asian models currently, none of them are Asian-American. "The only way I can explain why there are no big Asian-American names is, why are photo shoots done in some exotic locale and it looks like you've shot in someone's backyard?" Chan says. "Fashion is fantasy; it's about perception."

Dick Page, creative director of Shiseido, chalks up Asian models' increased visibility to "most economics. Everybody in the fashion/beauty industry recognizes the importance of global markets, and currently, China, Taiwan, and South Korea are at the forefront. The upshot is that customers want to see some version of themselves represented." And Anita Bitton, a casting director who has worked on Alexander Wang's shows and Gap campaigns, says that an ease in travel restrictions could also be a contributor: "Some of these girls had trouble obtaining work visas."

Liu Wen herself has noted a change within the last two seasons: "The challenge for me, and for Asian models in general, has been convincing editors, stylists, and photographers that we can have mass appeal. "But Asian, especially Chinese, models have become a stronger presence. Just a season or two ago, there weren't many models for me to talk with backstage in my native Mandarin. Now I usually have no trouble finding someone at any show." Du Juan adds: "There still are brands or clients that would not consider using an Asian model, but things are changing dramatically and quickly. I am not so sure if being Asian was or is a hindrance. In fact, I think it is a plus."

Because of the shift, Angelica Cheung, editor in chief of Vogue China, has noticed a shift in the Chinese ideal of beauty: "Traditionally the Chinese favored a classic kind of beauty — big, round eyes, cute small mouth, a high nose, and very fair skin. The Chinese models who have made it internationally are not beauties in the traditional sense, so they are modernizing the concept of beauty in China. When I was growing up in the seventies, everyone wore a blue, gray, or green Mao suit — there was no chance for women to be glamorous or different. Now you see young Chinese trying to be radical by dyeing their hair blonde or blue, sporting tattoos. It is a combination of copying what they see is popular in the Western world and trying to stand out in a nation where almost all of the 1.3 billion population have straight black hair and brown eyes. I like to joke that in less than a decade, China has gone from Karl Marx to Karl Lagerfeld!”

Photos of 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show After Party at Lavo
Victoria's Secret

Brazilians Still Going Strong at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show; Plus, After Party Images

>> Victoria's Secret models are all over fashion editorials and campaigns these days — Models.com suspects Candice Swanepoel might be next to cross over — and no wonder, with 10 and Harper's Bazaar editor Sophia Neophitou as show stylist.
by

>> Victoria's Secret models are all over fashion editorials and campaigns these days — Models.com suspects Candice Swanepoel might be next to cross over — and no wonder, with 10 and Harper's Bazaar editor Sophia Neophitou as show stylist. As Neophitou told Style.com of casting the show: “It’s such an editorial level . . . We looked at girls we love to shoot editorially; that’s what great. I think there’s a perception before you get here of what will work. But the reality is, it’s about the girl, it’s about the woman, what she brings as a human being to it, rather than has she got a size 34C cup. No, it’s not about that at all. That’s what they’ve got the miracle bras for.”

Brazilians were heavily favored as usual this year, with Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Isabeli Fontana, Izabel Goulart, Flavia Oliveira, Lais Ribeiro, Fabiana Semprebom, Emanuela de Paula, Gracie Carvalho, and Martha Streck all representing; 10 Brazilians out of the 33 total models. Check them out, plus Jessica Stam, Lily Donaldson, and more — at the show's after-party at Lavo last night.

View 50 Photos
Photos from the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
Victoria's Secret

The 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Unveiled — Karolina Kurkova, Jessica Stam, and Lily Donaldson Work It

>> Anne Vyalitsyna peeked out in a pink robe and waved at the crowd gathering at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York, where the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was taped this evening in front of an audience that included Carine Roitfeld, Giovanna Battaglia, Alexander Wang, Zac Posen and his boyfriend Christopher Niquet, Kate Lanphear, and Julia Restoin Roitfeld. Then, an announcer came on, asking that cell phones be stowed: "Frankly, if you need to use those devices at a show like this, you've got other problems."
by

>> Anne Vyalitsyna peeked out in a pink robe and waved at the crowd gathering at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York, where the 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was taped this evening in front of an audience that included Carine Roitfeld, Giovanna Battaglia, Alexander Wang, Zac Posen and his boyfriend Christopher Niquet, Kate Lanphear, and Julia Restoin Roitfeld. Then, an announcer came on, asking that cell phones be stowed: "Frankly, if you need to use those devices at a show like this, you've got other problems."

Lais Ribeiro, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Lily Donaldson, and Heloise Guerin all walked for Victoria's Secret for the first time today, but it was Angel Adriana Lima who opened the show, riding a twirling carousel to make her debut in the first, "Tough Love"-themed segment (She and Karolina Kurkova both made their return after skipping last year's show while pregnant.). It was the first of many minor obstacles the 33 models had to maneuver through during the show, all while smiling and waving to the crowd. In the sporty "Game On" segment, while twirling her ribbon stick, Izabel Goulart, got the ribbon stuck around her neck and had to untangle herself; Candice Swanepoel estimated her "Heavenly Bodies" wings weighed half of her body weight — "It’s like driving a car because they’re so far away from my body. I have to turn them before I turn my body. It’s an honor to get them. I told my trainer, ‘You better prepare me for this! We’ve been doing some extra push ups!’”; Anja Rubik, too, had expansive wings in the "Heavenly Bodies" — turning at the end of the runway with all those streamers deserved applause in itself; and in the final, "Pink Planet" segment, mylar balloon rained the runway from above, causing Maryna Linchuk and Jacquelyn Jablonski to have to kick them out of the way to get down the runway.

But there was plenty of fun to be had — Isabeli Fontana, who closed out the "Game On" segment, hammed it up for the cameras with her dumbbell prop, and Lily Aldridge had the support of her fiance Caleb Followill and the rest of Kings of Leon, front row. In the next section over, Anne V's boyfriend Adam Levine and the rest of Maroon 5 gave her a standing ovation as she made her first runway appearance — which Anne rewarded with a blown kiss.

Akon and Katy Perry both performed — him appropriately singing "Angel," and her singing "Teenage Dream" for the younger, Victoria's Secret Pink-themed segment. And Chanel Iman closed the show in bubble wings with a bubble-squirting gun. The final cut airs Nov. 30 on CBS.

View 155 Photos
2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Casting Video; Plus — Who's Confirmed So Far (Karolina Kurkova Is!)
Victoria's Secret

2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Casting Video; Plus — Who's Confirmed So Far (Karolina Kurkova Is!)

>> With the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show taping a week away, fittings are well under way — Alessandra Ambrosio, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Behati Prinsloo were snapped going to theirs yesterday, and Chanel Iman was there, too.
by

>> With the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show taping a week away, fittings are well under way — Alessandra Ambrosio, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Behati Prinsloo were snapped going to theirs yesterday, and Chanel Iman was there, too. She tweeted yesterday: "All day prep for Victoria Secret Show and most exciting FITTING!!! Keeping everything a Secret!!SSSSHHHH......!! ;)" Today, Lily Aldridge was on deck, and Izabel Goulart, too, has stopped in — apparently she's getting wings this year, and cried at her fitting when she found out.

A video of the show's castings has popped up (above) — hopefuls Hana Soukupova and Shannan Click are among those shown — and Monica Mitro, who has been casting the show for 16 years, since its inception, says, "It's really difficult because we see a lot of great girls … they come in here in their bras and panties, and normally that's not the way castings go, but we have to see how everything looks together … they literally have to be perfect."

Those deemed perfect so far? Besides those mentioned above, Flavia de Oliveira, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Liu Wen, Anja Rubik, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Erin Heatherton, Isabeli Fontana, Lindsay Ellingson, Jessica Stam, Emanuela de Paula, Maryna Linchuk, Magdalena Frackowiak, Edita Vilkeviciute, and as rumored, Karolina Kurkova, are all expected.

Estée Lauder Models Reveal Their Top Beauty Tips
Video

Estée Lauder Models Reveal Their Top Beauty Tips

Estée Lauder’s newest faces, Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen, along with seasoned vets Hilary Rhoda and Carolyn Murphy, are busier than ever during Fashion Week.
by


Estée Lauder’s newest faces, Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen, along with seasoned vets Hilary Rhoda and Carolyn Murphy, are busier than ever during Fashion Week. But how do they stay looking so fresh-faced, especially with such hectic schedules? Watch the video now to find out how they do it!

Beauty Advice from Models at Estee Lauder: Carolyn Murphy, Hilary Rhoda, Constance Jablonski, Liu Wen 2010-09-15 17:46:39

Quick Beauty Tips From Estée Lauder Models

Estée Lauder’s newest faces – Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen – and seasoned vets Hilary Rhoda and Carolyn Murphy chat with BellaSugar at New York Fashion Week.
by BellaTV

Estée Lauder’s newest faces – Constance Jablonski and Liu Wen – and seasoned vets Hilary Rhoda and Carolyn Murphy chat with BellaSugar at New York Fashion Week. The brand ambassadors share their tips on looking fresh-faced even with a crazy schedule, and let us in on the best beauty advice they’ve ever received. Check out our video for more beauty secrets from top models!