Who will be there and who won’t.
It’s mid-November, which means planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Hanukkah and a slew of other holidays celebrated by people all over the world. But it’s also time to make your arrangements for the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
The highly-anticipated event is scheduled to take place and be filmed on November 20 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. CBS will air the special just over a week later, on Tuesday, November 28, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The lingerie fashion show will be seen in 190 countries, according to Victoria’s Secret.
Martha Hunt walks the runway during the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on November 30,2016 in Paris, France. Hunt is slated to appear in the 2017 show in Shanghai, China, as well. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret
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The event, directed by Hamish Hamilton, will feature veteran Victoria’s Secret Angels like Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Lais Ribeiro, Martha Hunt, Romee Strijd, Sara Sampaio, Stella Maxwell and Taylor Hill. The lingerie brand promises the show will include some newcomers, too.
But there will be one big name who won’t be heading down the runway in Shanghai . “I’m so bummed I won’t be able to make it to China this year,” Gigi Hadid wrote in a tweet . “Love my VS family, and will be with all my girls in spirit!! Can’t wait to tune in with everyone to see the beautiful show I know it will be, and already can’t wait for next year!”
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2017 will be filmed in Shanghai, China, on November 20. It will air on CBS on November 28. Victoria’s Secret
Hadid had posted excitedly about her participation in the fashion show this summer, but she didn’t explain why she won’t be joining her sister, Bella Hadid, and the other models in China. One reason might be the brutal reaction to her original annoucement on Instagram in August. Her account was flooded with scathing responses telling her not to come and that she wasn’t welcome in China. The backlash came after a video she appeared in earlier this year showed her squinting next to a Buddha cookie, seemingly mocking Asian features.
She’s apparently not the only one who’s had to change her fashion-show plans. Pop star Katy Perry was reportedly denied a visa to perform at the event. Page Six reported that although Perry was originally told she would be able to travel to China, she was later barred because of a 2015 performance in Taipei. At that councert, she wore a sunflower dress (a symbol associated with anti-China protesters) and donned a Taiwanese flag. The report added that Harry Styles would replace Perry.
The fashion news site Fashionista reported that four other models from Russia and Ukraine—Julia Belyakova, Kate Grigorieva, Irina Sharipova and Dasha Khlystun—were also denied Chinese visas.
Victoria’s Secret did not immediately respond to Newsweek ’s request for comment about reports of denied visas or an up-to-date list of confirmed models and performers. A representative for Katy Perry did not immediately return Newsweek ’s request for comment about the pop star’s situation.
