Liu Wen is slated to return to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2026, with the show set for Sunday, Oct. 18 in Los Angeles. Her place in the lineup folds a 2009 milestone into the brand's current roster instead of leaving that history in the past.
At 21 years old, she was booked for the Victoria's Secret show in 2009 and said, “I was surprised when my agent told me.” In the same backstage interview, she added, “I asked my agent if she was joking,” and, “I didn't think an Asian girl would get this job.”
2009 and the first East Asian runway
Liu Wen became the first East Asian model to walk down a Victoria's Secret runway in 2009, a distinction that still frames her return nearly two decades later. She continued to model for Victoria's Secret and other brands after that debut, turning a one-off booking into a long-running relationship with the label.
The 2026 lineup also points to a familiar strategy: Victoria's Secret is pairing Liu Wen with Joan Smalls, Candice Swanepoel and Adriana Lima, while Naomi Campbell remains part of the wider conversation about models of color on major runways. For viewers, that means the show is leaning on recognizable names with track records rather than treating the event as a reset.
Beijing to New York
Liu Wen was discovered in Beijing in 2006 after entering a modeling contest to win a laptop for school, then was flown to Paris and then to New York. After the 2009 show, she became the first Asian face of Estée Lauder, and in March 2017 she became the first Chinese model featured on the cover of American Vogue.
Forbes named her one of the highest-paid models in the world in 2017, which matches the way the industry has kept returning to her instead of cycling her out. She also walked the Cannes red carpet in 2026, appeared at this year's Met Gala, and modeled for Chanel and Givenchy, so the 2026 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is less a comeback than a continuation of a career that never left the top tier.
Los Angeles on Oct. 18
The 2026 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show kicks off on Sunday, Oct. 18 in Los Angeles, and Liu Wen's slot gives the brand a built-in story line before the lights go up. The open question is why she was selected for this lineup now, but the answer is already visible in the booking itself: Victoria's Secret is placing its most historically significant East Asian model back on the runway where she made history first.
