There is no reliable public record establishing that Adriana Lima had a notable photoshoot, residence, project or documented vacation in Phuket, Thailand. The strongest contemporary record points somewhere else: Lima’s documented 2015 Vogue Eyewear photography took place in Búzios, Brazil. Vogue Italia’s 2015 campaign report identifies Búzios as the location and Ellen von Unwerth as the photographer.
Phuket does appear elsewhere in Vogue Eyewear’s 2015 orbit. Fellow ambassador Liu Shishi told Sina Fashion that one of her Vogue Eyewear shoots took place in Phuket with von Unwerth. That establishes Liu’s connection to Phuket, not Lima’s. It also helps explain why the two locations can become blurred when campaign images and ambassador names are separated from their original context.
Where Adriana Lima’s Vogue Eyewear photos were actually taken
Lima’s connection to Búzios is unusually well documented for a fashion campaign. Vogue Italia reported on March 18, 2015 that her Spring/Summer Vogue Eyewear campaign had been photographed there by Ellen von Unwerth. A contemporaneous Vogue Eyewear advertisement preserved in an optical-industry publication went further, printing the wording “Adriana Lima in Buzios, Brazil.”
Brazilian outlet Terra reported the same location in February 2015, describing the shoot as tropical and colorful. It also said Lima personally selected the eyewear models featured in the campaign.
Lima later described the setting herself in an ELLE interview, saying, “We shot on the beautiful shores of Buzios.” She also spoke about the significance of shooting in Brazil and said she had been able to choose the frames she wore.
The seasonal labels in the surviving coverage are not perfectly consistent: Vogue Italia refers to Spring/Summer material, while ELLE describes an Autumn/Winter campaign. Both, however, place Lima’s Vogue Eyewear work in Búzios. It is therefore safer to say that her documented 2015 Vogue Eyewear photography was in Búzios than to collapse every 2015 asset into a single campaign.
Why Phuket appears alongside Adriana Lima’s name
The most concrete Phuket connection in the same brand environment belongs to Liu Shishi. In July 2015, Liu discussed a Vogue Eyewear advertisement with Sina Fashion and said it had been shot in Phuket, Thailand, with Ellen von Unwerth.
Lima, Liu and Deepika Padukone were all associated with Vogue Eyewear in 2015, which creates an obvious risk of misattributing one ambassador’s location to another. That does not prove this is how the phrase “Adriana Lima Phuket” originated, but it is a plausible source of confusion.
There is also a separate Victoria’s Secret connection to Phuket. After the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, Vogue reported on a Phuket trip involving Sara Sampaio, Lais Ribeiro and Josephine Skriver. Lima was in Shanghai for the show, but Vogue’s Phuket feature named those three models rather than her.
Recent pages built specifically around the phrase “Adriana Lima Phuket” do not add solid evidence of a Lima trip or shoot. Some simply combine her celebrity profile with Phuket as a luxury destination. That is not enough to establish that she worked, lived or vacationed there.
None of this proves that Lima has never privately visited Phuket. It only means that a specific public Phuket connection cannot be responsibly stated as fact on the available documented record.
Who is Adriana Lima?
Adriana Lima was born on June 12, 1981, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. According to her current Victoria’s Secret biography, she won Ford’s “Supermodel of Brazil” competition at 15 and placed second in the 1996 Supermodel of the World contest.
The same profile says she moved to New York the following year, signed with Elite Model Management and made her runway debut for Anna Sui in September 1997. Those early years placed her in the international fashion system before the association that would become most closely identified with her public career.
Victoria’s Secret says Lima began working with the company in 1998 and first appeared in its Fashion Show in 1999. She became one of the brand’s most recognizable long-term models, while also working beyond Victoria’s Secret for fashion houses including Prada, Dior, Versace and Louis Vuitton.
Her commercial work extended well beyond the runway. Victoria’s Secret’s retrospective biography records her as a Maybelline spokesmodel from 2003 to 2009. By 2015, when Vogue Eyewear photographed her in Búzios, she was already an established international model rather than a newcomer attached to a single brand.
A long Victoria’s Secret association
Lima’s Victoria’s Secret history spans several distinct periods. Her relationship with the company began in 1998, and her first Fashion Show followed in 1999. Years later, Victoria’s Secret recorded her return to its runway in October 2024.
That longevity matters because it helps explain why unrelated Victoria’s Secret travel stories can become attached to her name in search results. She is so closely associated with the brand that a Phuket trip involving other Victoria’s Secret models can easily be mistaken for part of her own history when names, captions or images are detached from their original articles.
The distinction is simple: Lima’s documented 2017 Victoria’s Secret activity included Shanghai, while Vogue’s specific post-show Phuket feature centered on Sara Sampaio, Lais Ribeiro and Josephine Skriver.
Beyond fashion campaigns
Lima has also taken on public roles outside modeling. On February 27, 2023, FIFA announced her appointment as its first Global Fan Ambassador.
That appointment is best treated as a dated historical role rather than assumed to be permanent. It nevertheless shows the extent to which Lima’s public profile has expanded beyond fashion campaigns and runway appearances.
Adriana Lima’s career in 2026
Lima remained professionally active as of October 6, 2026. She walked Vogue World: Milano on September 22, appearing in an archival Giorgio Armani look, according to Vogue Italia.
Her Models.com profile also records 2026 work including Vogue World and a Messika Spring/Summer 2027 show on October 1, alongside current advertising and fashion credits.
Victoria’s Secret has additionally listed Lima among the announced models for its October 19, 2026 Fashion Show in Los Angeles. Because that event had not yet taken place as of October 6, the accurate description is that she was announced for the show, not that she had already walked it.
So, what does “Adriana Lima Phuket” mean?
At present, it is better understood as an ambiguous search phrase than as the name of a verified event in Lima’s career.
What can be stated confidently is more specific:
- Adriana Lima’s documented 2015 Vogue Eyewear photography took place in Búzios, Brazil.
- Ellen von Unwerth photographed that work.
- Fellow Vogue Eyewear ambassador Liu Shishi separately described shooting for the brand in Phuket, Thailand.
- A 2017 Victoria’s Secret Phuket trip reported by Vogue involved other models.
- No reliable public record establishes a notable Lima shoot, residence or project in Phuket.
For readers trying to identify a tropical Adriana Lima campaign image, Búzios is the location to check first. Phuket belongs to a different documented part of the wider fashion story.