Liu Wen in vogue
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Liu Wen is the new face of China after becoming the first Asian model for Victoria's Secret (VS).
It means the 21-year-old is busier than ever, striking poses for next year's New York fashion magazines.
Liu told China Daily in an e-mail interview that her assignment for VS has made her hot property with the biggest names in the business.
"It's a pity that I can't spend the Chinese New Year with my parents, as I have to prepare for next year's fashion weeks," Liu said.
She said she had been watching VS shows for a long time but never imagined she would take part in them.
"When I was watching the 2008 show, my friend asked me when I would walk on that stage. I thought it was a joke at the time, but it turned out to be a miracle."
One month after the show, she was asked to attend an interview.
"I did not know it was VS that was looking for models before I went. To be honest, I was not that confident about my figure, but the interviewer seemed to be very interested in me."
Liu was invited to shoot a "look book" for another VS line and three months later was informed she could go to New York for the show.
For the show Liu wore one outfit and at the end showed off a bikini with shiny silver metal pieces, which had four sharp points. The hi-tech costume made Liu look like the "girl from the future".
"Backstage, there were two people protecting me from getting hurt by the sharp metal pieces. I knew the show was extremely important, so I felt a little bit nervous. But as soon as I walked on the stage, it was nothing different from other shows."
Reporters rushed to interview Liu afterward.
"There were a lot of media interviewing us. I felt a little bit dizzy so I wanted to hide when I saw a camera."
Liu said she was excited to be the only Chinese face at such an important fashion show.
She believes she was invited onto the catwalk because China is getting stronger and the world is paying more attention to the country.
"If it wasn't me, there would be someone else from China," Liu said.
She remembers that when she first went to Paris Fashion Week in February last year, the only Chinese models she met were Du Juan and Pei Pei.
At the September show there were three times as many Chinese models.
"It means that our quality is improving and European and American markets need us. I think they actually pay attention to the Chinese market, not just Chinese models."
Chinese media called her a supermodel after she appeared in the VS show, but for her, "supermodel" is an ambiguous concept.
"It felt like when I was made one of the top 50 models at models.com, I felt nothing different. This time, my position went to 24th, I just laughed to myself late at night, as if I had won a flower at the kindergarten," she said.
Liu came to Beijing from Yongzhou, Hunan province at the age of 17, to look for work.
Life was tough before she appeared in China's Marie Claire. She lived in a dormitory with other models, didn't have enough money to eat and faced constant criticism from fashion editors and stylists.
One year later, she became a professional model, and signed a contract with a model agency.
Liu made her international debut at the Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks in February last year. Three months later, she was invited by Karl Lagerfeld to be the first Asian to model a Chanel collection.
Models.com now ranks Liu as the fifth-ranked model in the world and she was called a "new star" by another fashion website style.com.
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