Liu Wen Currently One Of World’s Most Sought-After Models
Givenchy Spring 2011
With Chinese supermodels like Liu Wen, Fei Fei Sun, Jing Ma, Ming Xi, Lily Zhi and Sui He gliding effortlessly from catwalks in Beijing and Shanghai to New York, Paris and Milan, the hunt is on for model agencies to discover “China’s Next Supermodel.” The massive growth seen in the Asian consumer and retail markets in the last decade, and the strong importance that major brands are now putting on the region, has made recruiting Asian models a priority for agencies and brands alike in recent years.
As Shaun Rein, the Shanghai-based managing director of China Market Research Group told the AFP last spring, the focus on China as one of the world’s most important emerging consumer markets has been reflected on the catwalk, as “savvier companies are using Asian models to penetrate the China market and try to create an emotional bond with consumers, and to give an aspiration that Chinese can look up to.”
As Reuters reports this week, with the importance of appealing to consumers in markets like China becoming increasingly obvious, luxury brands are now investing heavily in looking for the next Liu Wen: