All we know about the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai
Say what you like about Victoria's Secret, but they sure know how to build hype. The rumours over who will be appearing at their 2017 Fashion Show have been flying thick and fast ever since it was confirmed that the catwalk show would be coming to China for the first time.
Perhaps slightly less planned, but the Shanghai show is also coming with more controversy than a group of priests getting caught in Ireland's largest lingerie department with reports of racism allegations, visa refusals and pop feuds all swirling around.
via GIPHY
Here's a breakdown of what we know about Monday's (20 Nov) models and music melee, with a healthy dose of speculation mixed in.
The background
A year ago, you couldn't officially get Victoria's Secret lingerie in the shops in Shanghai. The brand had had stores here since 2015 following a tussle with Chinese copycats, but they only sold bags and cosmetic cases – no bras. That changed in a big way back in February with the opening of a four-storey shop on Huaihai Lu packed full of slinky underwear.
And in case you needed any confirmation that China is now a massive market for the company, it's come in the form of them hosting their Fashion Show here for the first time and stirring up a huge amount of attention with the rumoured line-up.
The music
None of the musical guests for the show have officially been confirmed, but that of course has only served to ramp up the hype.
Taylor Swift's name was the first to be bandied about for the Shanghai event, which makes sense: she's a VS Fashion Show veteran, is massive in China and no stranger to the Mercedes-Benz Arena, and of course has a new album to plug. China might not be a normal stop for her at this stage of the album promotion cycle (look for her making a proper live return here in 2019) but it wasn't completely implausible that she'd spare a day or two in return for the massive TV audience she'd get.
That, and it's possible she knew the fuss that would be caused when people started to find out who else was due to be performing...
via GIPHY
Because where things got really interesting is when word got out about the acts supposedly joining Swift in Shanghai. First up was Harry Styles. Yes, the same Harry Styles who used to date Swift, several Victoria's Secret models and is currently with VS model Camille Rowe. Who he'll be directing his song 'Only Angel' toward if he performs it is anyone's guess, but this tweet featuring a promo image for new single 'Kiwi' from his label seems to suggest that word of his appearance here is legit:
Then came a leak that Katy Perry was set to join the party. Which given the 'Bad Blood' between her and Swift wouldn't be awkward/headline-generating at all. The news naturally sent the pop gossip-sphere into overdrive, coincidentally right around the time Perry released a new single and Swift a new album.
But the latest word (again, completely unconfirmed) is that Swift won't actually be appearing at this year's show. Instead, the line-up now seems like it'll be Katy Perry, Harry Styles and, err, Miguel. We don't want to damage the fragile ego of the LA-based singer who once stated he was better 'all round' than Frank Ocean, but he's not quite Taylor Swift is he? Plus without her presence, the potential for fireworks between the musical acts now seems greatly reduced.
The models
This ought to be the easy part. Victoria's Secret has a bunch of models on contract, so all they have to do is get the paperwork filed in time and fly them all over right? Well...
Gigi Hadid confirmed a while back that she'd be returning to the VS catwalk in Shanghai, which caused a bit of a stir given accusations back at the start of the year that she had mocked Asians in a swiftly deleted video clip posted by her sister Bella (who is also set to be appearing here). Of course, this wasn't the first time she'd faced accusations of racism, and the response was so strong that she took to Weibo to issue an apology:
Whether that'll be enough to calm critics here and allow her appearance to go ahead without any trouble remains to be seen. Less controversially, model/celeb Karlie Kloss seems set to join the Hadid sisters in Shanghai.
And then there's the VS models themselves. Confirmed for the Shanghai show are Jasmine Tookes, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge and Alessandra Ambrosio, but four models – Russians Julia Belyakova, Kate Grigorieva and Irina Sharipova, and Ukrainian Dasha Khlystun – have reportedly been refused visas for China.
The tickets
Sorry, but if you're reading this bit because you still haven't gotten your hands on an invitation to the show, chances are you're not getting in. The whole thing is being kept on a very tight lockdown, with the Ministry of Culture apparently limiting the number of tickets to just 3,000 and the organisers taking a very strict invite-only line to entrance.
We're not even sure the regular crowds of touts who circle these kinds of events will have much joy in this case. If you can't get in, it seems you'll have to wait with the rest of us until it's aired on US TV channel CBS on Tuesday 28.
Mercedes-Benz Arena 1200 Expo Avenue, near Gaoke Xi Lu. Mon 20. 8pm-11pm. Invite only.