What to expect from Victoria’s Secret 2017 in Shanghai

Here come the supermodels, to shine in Shanghai!

Models for 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show gather for a group photo. /CGTN Photo‍

The 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, one of the industry’s most glamorous events, is set to kick off in Shanghai on Monday at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, as angels got together for a group photo on Saturday.

It is the first time ever the event landed in a Chinese city and in Asia. A total of 55 supermodels were confirmed to walk the runway, with a record number of seven Chinese models.

So what could be expected at the show?

Models for 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show gather for a group photo. /CGTN Photo‍

Six categories of lingerie

Black leather jacket, white T-shirt and skintight jeans… the supermodels arrived at the arena at Shanghai Expo on Saturday morning, waving and cheering at the photographers during the group-photo shoot ahead of the show.

According to the official announcement earlier, there will be six categories in this year’s show, including the Nomadic Adventure, Goddesses, Winter’s tale, Porcelain Angels, Punk Angels and Millennial Nation.

Lauren Pilz, who works for the Public Relations and Communications for the show, told CGTN that there are altogether 57 looks.

Models for 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show gather for a group photo. /CGTN Photo‍

Fantasy Bra

This year, the most stunning Fantasy Bra that costs some two million US dollars, will be presented by 27-year-old Brazilian model Lais Ribeiro, who will walk her sixth VS show in Shanghai.

The bra is a handmade with diamonds, yellow sapphires and blue topaz in 18 karat gold, dubbed as “Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra”.

Ribeiro was quoted by a magazine earlier as saying that she had "never cried so much" in her entire life when she found out she would be wearing the much sought-after fantasy bra, "and I have a baby," added the supermodel.

Luxurious as it is, the fantasy bra for this year’s show has already seen a price-cut compared with last year’s garment which is worth about three million US dollars.

Victoria's Secret Angel Lais Ribeiro revealed to wear the "Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra" at Victoria's Secret 5th Avenue Store on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in New York. Ribeiro will wear the $2 million bra during the upcoming Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Record number of Chinese models

A record number of Chinese models will walk down the runway this year. Besides Liu Wen, He Sui, Ming Xi and Ju Xiaowen who walked during last year’s show, several new faces will join in Team China.

Xie Xin, a newly rising star in the modeling world who's frequently featured in fashion magazines, will be expected at the show. She was in the editorials for T Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar China and Vogue China.

Estelle Chen, who is only 19 years old, will be another new Chinese face on this year’s line-up. A Chinese descendant raised in France, she will be one of the youngest to have access to the show this year.

Wang Yi, who was shot to fame through a Chinese talent show for models, will also walk after grabbing the championship in the show. She has showed up on Saturday's group photo.

Six of the Chinese models pose for a selfie. /Photo via Sina Weibo

Performers still a surprise

The musical acts for the show, however, remain a little bit mystery this year, for there was no official announcement yet. Online speculations include Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. But Perry has reportedly failed to get her visa.

Earlier on Saturday, Lauren Pilz told CGTN that the list will remain as a surprise for the last minute.

Victoria's Secret flagship store in Shanghai. /Photo via Global Times

The lingerie brand has been targeting the Chinese market in recent years, as it opened its first flagship store in Shanghai in February, and only one month later, the second store was opened in Chengdu of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. A Beijing store could also be expected soon.

The Chinese women’s underwear market reportedly stood at 21 billion US dollars in 2016, according to the market research firm Euromonitor International. And the number is estimated to hit 26 billion by 2021.

The show will be aired globally by CBS on November 28, 2017. With carpet rolled out and lights turned on, let the show begin!

Mixed reviews didn’t dissuade mass audiences from buying tickets to the “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which scored the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood movie. The Illumination and Nintendo co-production earned $130.9 million over the weekend and a massive $190.1 million in its first five days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal Pictures released the sequel globally on Wednesday, capitalizing on kids’ spring break vacations in the week leading up to the Easter holiday. With an estimated $182.4 million from 80 overseas markets, the film is looking at an astronomical $372.5 million debut — the latest hit for the PG rating. Mexico is leading the international bunch with $29.1 million from 5,136 screens, followed by the U.K. and Ireland with $19.7 million.

The animated sequel, Illumination CEO Christopher Meledandri's 16th movie in 16 years, is the industry’s biggest debut since “Avatar: Fire and Ash” launched over Christmas. The Chinese movie “Pegasus 3,” which was not a Motion Picture Association release, has the slight edge for the 2026 global record, however.

It’s also a dip from the first film, which opened to $204 million domestically during the same five-day time frame in 2023 ($147 of that was from Friday, Saturday and Sunday). “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” went on to be the second biggest movie of 2023, with over $1.3 billion in box office receipts.

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which features returning voice actors Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Day, had a massive footprint in the U.S. and Canada, where it played in 4,252 theaters, including 421 IMAX and 1,345 premium large format screens. It made $15 million from the IMAX screens alone.

“It’s exactly the kind of broad, crowd-pleasing release that brings people into theatres,” AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron said in a statement.

It also cost around $110 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. But it arrived on a wave of less-than-stellar reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is currently sitting at a lousy 40%. Ticket buyers were more enthusiastic, however.

The family audience gave the movie five out of five stars according to PostTrak exit polls, while general audiences gave it four stars and an A- on CinemsScore. Audiences skewed male (61%) overall, although when it came to families attending there were slightly more moms (52%) than dads.

“These kind of audience reaction scores just point to a ridiculously strong run, not only throughout the spring, but likely into the summer as well,” said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” will open in Japan later this month.

Last year, the first weekend in April hosted the launch of another video game blockbuster, “A Minecraft Movie,” which had a bigger three-day debut ($162.8 million) but didn’t have a “Project Hail Mary” in a strong second place, meaning the weekend overall is still up around 5%.

As expected, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ended the two-week reign of the Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi hit “Project Hail Mary,” which landed in second its third weekend in theaters where it added $30.7 million, bringing its running domestic total to $217.2 million. Worldwide, it's made $420.7 million to date.

Third place went to A24’s provocative new movie “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, which made an estimated $14.4 million from 3,087 theaters. The film’s stars have been on a massive and charming press blitz to promote their R-rated movie about a engaged couple grappling with an unnerving revelation, which cost a reported $28 million to produce. The reveal has drummed up a fair amount of cultural discourse. While reviews have been more positive than not (82% on Rotten Tomatoes), it got a less promising B CinemaScore.

“Hoppers” and “Reminders of Him” rounded out the top five. And the box office outlook looks bright overall, up around 30% from last year.

“There’s no better opening act for a great summer than a huge month of April powered by a mega blockbuster like the 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, comscore's head of marketplace trends.

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1.“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” $130.9 million.

2.“Project Hail Mary,” $30.7 million.

3.“The Drama,” $14.4 million.

4.“Hoppers,” $5.8 million.

5.“Reminders of Him,” $2.2 million.

6.“A Great Awakening,” $2.1 million.

7.“They Will Kill You,” $1.9 million.

8.“Dhurandhar The Revenge,” $1.9 million.

9.“Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” $1.8 million.

10.“Scream 7,” 915,000.

Actress Zendaya, left, and actor Robert Pattinson pose for photographers as they arrive for the Italian premiere of the movie "The Drama," in Rome, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)