Victoria’s Secret fashion show in Shanghai? Meet the Asian angels confirmed and what this will mean for the angel packed show.

If you haven’t read our previous article on the most watched fashion show to date, then you best get your diaries and reading glasses out. The 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show will be airing on November 28. The show that is full of a whopping 16 newbies, a $2 million Fantasy Bra AND (yes, there's more…) a collaboration with Balmain. What more could you want from a fashion show? The only thing they can be missing is a diverse lineup… Oh wait, they have that covered as well. With the show taking place in the amazing country that is Shanghai, what can this mean for the Victoria’s Fashion show? It isn’t a secret, the fashion industry is known to be a little on the critical side when it comes to getting the right models to showcase their collections, but with the likes of Winnie Harlow and Ashley Graham, showing diversity is the way forward. Nowadays the fashion industry is slowly becoming more diverse. From embracing plus-size models to including various cultures, many fashion designers are developing open minds and letting us forget about the stigma they once held. Victoria’s Secret taking place in China is an open door for diverse women, as they have always had in their shows. From 4 chinese models to now 8, the diverse range is improving and I am on board for this.

Behind the glamorous show, there are brains. With the rise of China’s women's underwear market, it is expected to grow to nearly 22%, according to a market research from Euromonitor International. Taking advantage of their catwalk location, they are surrounded by local chinese brands and labels, such as Cosmo, Lady China Holdings and La Perla. Why wouldn’t you hold your show in a place where the market is improving? They are one step forward.. It is a no-brainer into the reasoning behind it.

Revisiting last year's show in Paris, they brought in cultural elements in which showed their interest in a more diverse range of techniques. Remember when Elsa Hosk wrapped in an imperial dragon and Kendall Jenner framed by garish Phoenix wings? As stunning as we thought the styling was, the cultural styling added backlash for the Chinese consumers, with one commenter ranting "Chinese style is reserved; linking it with bikini outfits just makes it slutty". Despite the once negative comments, the attitudes towards ‘sexed-lingerie’ is quickly changing within the Chinese society. "It is much more open compared to a couple of decades ago," says Theresa Yang, Business Analyst at Bomoda. But we don’t like to focus on the negative.. Moving swiftly onto the positive, the Chinese consumer is familiar with the brand as VS has all beauty, fragrance and accessories stores opened a year prior to the Shanghai flagship store.

The choice of Shanghai for the real thing comes at an extremely timely moment for on-site branding, and brings the opportunity to cast a record number of Chinese models, the beautiful Liu Wen (who was the first ever East Asian model to walk the show) as well as other gorgeous models Sui He, Ju Xiaowen and Ming Xi — plus newbies Xin Xie and French-Chinese Estelle Chen.

"When Victoria's Secret increased the [Chinese] model number, Chinese consumers know the brand is very serious in looking to the Chinese market — and they know the brand values of the Chinese consumers," says Yang. "It's a good way to expand the brand presence in China." Plus, as we know, it's nice to see a person who looks like you on the runway. "Many [social media] users were talking about, 'Oh, thank god, more Chinese faces," Pan says. "'There are even new Chinese faces!'" That is because WE ALL WANT MORE DIVERSITY!! With eight Chinese models walking the worldwide viewed fashion show is a cultural benchmark in China. Back in the day, modeling wasn't necessarily perceived as a desirable career path in China. When the agency Esee Model was founded in 2002, clients tended to prefer non-Chinese models. But then a major shift of movement within the fashion industry happened around 2006, when Fei Fei Sun (who's signed to Women Management) and Kang Qian Wen (who goes by "Kiki") became recognized and lauded at international fashion weeks.

Enough of me rambling on, let's take a look at the diverse range of models this year's show is holding.

Liu Wen | @liuwenlw