However, it’s that cultural moodboard styling that gave Victoria’s Secret hype a giant boost in China over the past year. The brand has flirted with East-Asian consumers in the past, but 2016 marked the first time that its products would also be shoppable to its target audience (Victoria’s Secret’s much maligned “Go East” collection in 2012 was never actually available in the East). In 2016, the brand cast four East-Asian models — the most in its 40-year history. All four were Chinese, and two walked during a section that paid homage to traditional Chinese culture with dragons and phoenix wings that many on Chinese social media criticized as both out-of-touch and too on-the-nose. Regardless, buzz about the show and the brand reached a fever pitch. This year, in addition to Liu Wen, Xiao Wen, Ming Xi, and Sui He, they cast two additional Chinese models to much online fanfare. “We have more Chinese models here than ever,” said Liu Wen. “Everything is new. Everything is fresh. Everything is a surprise. Every year is different, but especially this year.”