On the evening of September 10 local time, Liu Wen opened and closed Tory Burch’s Spring/Summer 2027 show at New York Fashion Week. With years of experience behind her, she confidently commanded the runway in a classic purple dress, becoming a focal point both on and off the catwalk.
Taking on both the opening and closing spots is a rare honor at major fashion weeks and reflects the brand’s trust in Liu Wen’s appeal, runway skills and standing within the industry.
At 38, the supermodel continues to challenge age-related stereotypes in modeling, maintaining her position as one of Asia’s leading runway stars at major fashion capitals across Europe and the United States.
Learning How to Walk in Heels and Speak English
Born in 1988 in Yongzhou, Hunan, Liu Wen is widely regarded as China’s first internationally successful supermodel. She did not come from a family with a fashion background. As a child, Liu had almost no exposure to the industry until her mother encouraged her to enter a local modeling competition. She took part, won an award and received a computer as her prize—a turning point that eventually took her from her hometown to Beijing to pursue modeling before gradually leading her onto the international stage.
What made Liu Wen particularly distinctive was that her appearance did not conform to traditional Chinese beauty standards. She once told Vogue that as a child, her small eyes and exceptional height meant she was not considered conventionally beautiful in her hometown and was even criticized for her looks. Yet those very differences later became an advantage on international runways. Western fashion media have regarded Liu Wen as one of the faces who helped reshape the industry’s perception of Asian beauty.
Her career was far from an overnight success. In an interview with Forbes, Liu Wen recalled moving from southern China to Beijing at 18 with almost nothing and struggling to find work. When she first arrived in Paris and Milan, she had to relearn even the most basic skills, including how to properly walk in high heels, as she told The Wall Street Journal.
Language was another major barrier. Liu Wen once told Tiffany & Co. that she could not speak English or Italian at the time, and everything felt so unfamiliar that it was like “becoming a baby all over again” because she could not understand what people were saying. It was an extremely lonely period. Through persistence, however, she gradually overcame each obstacle.
A Supermodel Defined by “Firsts”
Liu Wen’s career has been marked by a series of groundbreaking achievements. In 2009, she became the first Chinese model to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. In 2010, she became the first Asian face of Estée Lauder. By 2013, Liu Wen had become the first Asian model to enter the top five of Forbes’ highest-paid models list.
During the Fall/Winter 2009 season, Liu Wen walked in 74 shows across New York, London, Milan and Paris—a record for an Asian model at the time, according to British Vogue. The following season, she continued her momentum by appearing in around 70 shows.
Her success was not limited to commercial runways. Liu Wen also earned recognition from the high-fashion world, appearing on the cover of American Vogue and fronting campaigns for numerous major fashion houses. In 2024, she became the first Asian-born model to appear solo on the cover of Vogue France.
Vogue has praised Liu Wen for her professionalism, friendly personality and ability to adapt quickly. In 2017, when asked what it felt like to become a supermodel, she described it as a turning point because from then on, modeling was no longer simply a job but also came with a sense of responsibility toward the community.
A Massive Fortune
After two decades in the industry, Liu Wen became the highest-paid model in Asia, with a significant gap between her earnings and those of many of her peers. In 2013, Forbes estimated that she earned $4.3 million, ranking fifth among the world’s highest-paid models, thanks to lucrative contracts with Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Estée Lauder. In 2014, Liu Wen’s earnings rose to approximately $7 million, keeping her among the world’s top earners and making her the only Asian representative in that group.
In 2017, Forbes once again placed Liu Wen among the world’s highest-paid models, estimating her annual earnings at around $6.5 million. Between 2021 and 2023, Celebrity Net Worth estimated her total fortune at approximately $40 million.
Despite her wealth, Liu Wen remains actively involved in her work. In recent years, she has appeared on major Chinese reality shows such as We Are In Love, while also taking on numerous high-value domestic advertising projects. Beyond modeling, Liu Wen owns her own design studio, “Sixin Studio,” in Ningbo, China—a large-scale minimalist architectural space that has also attracted attention for its design.
Within the fashion industry, Liu Wen is known for maintaining a relatively private lifestyle and devoting much of her energy to art, living spaces and high-end fashion design. When praised for her achievements, Liu Wen once told Vogue Singapore that although she appreciated the recognition, she still felt as though she was simply going to work like everyone else. To her, success is defined not only by how others perceive her but also by how she sees herself—and fame, alongside its joys, also brings considerable pressure.
Looking back on her journey by decade, Liu Wen once said that her first decade was when she began her modeling career, her second was when she truly fell in love with the fashion industry, and in her third decade, she hoped to give something back to the fashion world in the most positive ways possible.
Sources: Ngoisao