The 2017 Victoria’s Secret show is just days away (mark your calendars for November 20), but China has thrown a massive spanner in the works: it’s reportedly denied visas to four models walking in the Shanghai show.
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Fashionista reports that Julia Belyakova, Kate Grigorieva and Irina Sharipova, all Russian citizens, have been denied visas, as has Ukraine model Dasha Khlystun. They got their intel from Instagram account @VSModelSpain, which published this screenshot of a conversation with Khylstun confirming that she’s no longer part of the show.
Why China would deny entry to four Victoria’s Secret models is anyone’s guess – as Fashionista reports, relations between China and Ukraine are apparently at “their best in history,” although tensions could be on the rise following a widely publicised incident last month when a Russian model died during Shanghai Fashion Week.
It’s not the first time this year’s Victoria’s Secret show has been marred by racial tension – Gigi Hadid came under fire on social media with people declaring she wasn’t welcome in China after she posted an inflammatory video.
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