The evening was dark and cold, the destination was Paris, and the venue Grand Palais. But what happened inside, was everything but dark and cold. It was bright, it was beautiful and it was extravagant. It was the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. A fashion show known for its lingerie costumes and wings, and a star-studded runway as well as a star-studded guest list. This year, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and Bruno Mars performed along the VS supermodels, and together they added a new chapter in a sparkly history of Victoria’s Secret.
VS Fashion Show
The annual VS fashion show is the most watched fashion show in the world. 51 glamourous supermodels presented Victoria’s Secret latest collection of lingerie this year. That is the largest number of models to walk the VS fashion show, and it is also the first time that the show is taking place in Paris.
The reason for all these ‘firsts’ might have to do with the fact, that the VS Fashion Show is celebrating its 20th year of fashion shows.
Alongside all the beautiful models, there were also musical performances by Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and Bruno Mars and this year.
Segments and Outfits
This year, the VS fashion show consisted of six segments and a total number of 82 outfits. The six segments were named The Road Ahead, Secret Angel, Mountain Romance, Pink Nation, Dark Angel and Bright Night Angel. It was American model and VS Angel Jasmine Tookes who wore the Fantasy Bra worth $3 million and the only Danish VS Angel and model Josephine Skriver who wore the Swarovski outfit with as many as 450,000 Swarovski crystals.
The VS Angels walking this year’s show was Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Elsa Hosk, Jasmine Tookes, Josephine Skriver, Lais Ribeiro, Martha Hunt, Romee Strijd, Sara Sampaio, Stella Maxwell and Taylor Hill, while the total number of wings was 43.
Ikon On the Kendall, Gigi, Bella Talk”
Bella, Gigi and Kendall. Do they deserve to be a part of the show or do they not? That is the question. But I don’t believe that is the right question to ask. The people behind the VS show, does not cast Kendall, Gigi and Bella because they “deserve” it. They cast them because they are some of the most bespoken models now, and because they come with millions of followers. They are like living and walking ads, and has the potential to make VS a lot of money. So even though the truth might hurt for the VS enthusiasts, raising profit is essentially what business is about, also the VS business. So instead of talking about whether they deserve, maybe we can talk about whether they fit in the energetic and exuberant atmosphere that the VS show creates.
It is my personal belief, that all three of them are beautiful models. With that said, I must say that I believe Bella Hadid’s look is too nostalgic for the image of Victoria’s Secret. She is not the girly girl who can bring the whole world in their knees with just a smile. Bella Hadid is way more editorial. Gigi Hadid, on the other hand, might be that girly girl I am describing, although, I don’t feel enough fierceness in her look. Gigi is incredibly beautiful and one of a kind, but to me, she is too commercial and not fierce enough for this kind of fashion show.
Kendall Jenner has that fierceness, and no matter what all the critics have to say about her only being a successful model because of her family, I believe she has what it takes to be a model and a part of the fashion show and what it represents. She is beautiful and smiling comes naturally to her opposite to Bella.
What is your opinion? Share it on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #IkonVSTalk.
If this article has intrigued you and you want more of the VS Angels and this year’s fashion show, I recommend you to check out the show that aired 5th of December 2016.
Victoria’s Secret History: Who Is Victoria?
The first Victoria’s Secret store opened on the 12th of June 1977 at the Stanford Shopping Centre in California. The man behind Victoria’s Secret is Roy Raymond, and to our big disappointment, he reveals that there is no Victoria. The name Victoria refers and associates to the Victorian era, with the secret being what was hidden underneath the clothes. So here you go, Victoria does not exist and the secret is the underwear itself. The first secret revealed.
Victoria’s Secret History: Why Would a Man Open a Lingerie Store?
Since we have now established, that our mystery Victoria does not exist, it is time to figure out why a man suddenly opens a store with women’s lingerie, besides the opposite reasons, of course… It all started with Roy Raymond going to a lingerie store to buy his wife a gift. Raymond found himself feeling like a pervert strolling around in the store and left with a truly appalling experience. Raymond realized that his friends felt the same when shopping for lingerie, which gave him the idea of building a lingerie store that would make men feel utterly comfortable.
He imagined an interior of with Victorian boudoir, hence the name Victoria. It turned out, that Roy Raymond did not only create America’s largest retailer of women’s lingerie, he revolutionised the entire idea about lingerie. Lingerie was for special occasion like honeymoons, anniversaries, etc. Lingerie was not about having fun and that was the core idea that Raymond changed with his new brand. The business was flourishing and by 1982 Victoria’s Secret was earning $4 million annually.
When Did The Fashion Shows Start?
It took some years from the first Victoria’s Secret store opened to the first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was held. We know that Roy Raymond opened the first store in 1977 and in 1995 the first VS Fashion Show was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Even though it was the debut show, Victoria’s Secret has throughout the 21 years of annual fashion shows, always maintained a runway consisting of the biggest models of the time. In 1995 models such as Stephanie Seymour and Veronica Webb. In 1996 Naomi Campbell and Helena Christensen made sure that Victoria’s Secret strongly became associated with super models.
What About The Fantasy Bra Then?
The Fantasy Bra that only one lucky model (two in rare cases) will be picked to wear, is known for being an extra sparkling and extravagant bra, with diamonds and rocks worth millions of dollars. In 1996 Claudia Schiffer modelled the first Fantasy Bra worth $1 million.
Who Wore The Most Expensive Fantasy Bra?
The most expensive Fantasy Bra in the history of Victoria’s Secret was worn by Gisele Bündchen in 2005. The bra was composed of 2,900 pave diamonds, 22 rubies, and a 101-carat diamond centrepiece set in white gold. The cost was a staggering $12.5 million.
In 2014 Victoria’s Secret made a surprising announcement, when they shared the news of two Fantasy Bras in 2014. Both Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosia were going to walk the runway together wearing fantasy bras worth $2 million each. Both Lima and Ambrosia has worn the Fantasy Bra previous years.
This year, it was VS Angel Jasmine Tookes who wore the Fantasy Bra worth $3 million for the first time in her career.
Is The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Traveling?
This year, the VS Fashion Show was held in Paris at the Grand Palais, and some of you might remember when the show was in London’s Earl’s Court in 2014. Looking at the past few years, it may seem like the VS Fashion Show is a traveling show, picking a new fashion capital each year. But the show in London, was actually the first time in the VS history that a VS Fashion Show was held outside the US and this year was the second time. Whether or not this is a new trend (one might hope), is not possible to determine.
How Many Countries Were Represented On The VS Runway 2016?
This year, 51 models from around the world walked the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Paris. But where does the models come from? What Countries are they representing?
Here are first the Angels and the countries they represent:
- America: Jasmine Tookes, Martha Hunt, Taylor Hill, Lily Aldridge
- Brazil: Lais Ribeiro, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio
- Sweden: Elsa Hosk
- New Zealand: Stella Maxwell
- Portugal: Sara Sampaio
- Denmark: Josephine Skriver
- Netherlands: Romee Strijd
Both Behati Prinsloo representing Nambia and Candice Swanepoel representing South Africa are both still on a VS Angel contract, but due to the fact that they both just gave birth, they did not walk the VS Fashion Show 2016.
If you take an extra look at the list of Angels, Behati and Candice included, you will see, that the Angels are representing all continents of the world, except Antarctica.
Other Countries represented during this year’s show are Puerto Rico, France, Russia, Britain, Angola, China, Commonwealth of Dominica (sovereign Island country) and Tanzania.
The total number of countries is 15 different countries from six different continents.
How Big Are The Wings?
The Victoria’s Secret wings come in all shapes and colours. Not only can they be big and beautiful, they are in most cases extremely heavy. Let us take the Swarovski outfit worn by Josephine Skriver this year. Each sleeve weighed about 10 pounds. In 2011 Alessandra Ambrosio wore a pair of wings encrusted with 105,000 Swarovski crystals weighing 30 pounds. Those were the heaviest wings ever made for Victoria’s Secret. But who wore the biggest?
In 2003, Heidi Klum wore the biggest wings in the VS history. The wings were white and covered in feathers and they were standing 12 feet high. That is more than twice the height of the Victoria’s Secret Angels themselves.
Notable and record-breaking Victoria’s Secret Wings
- Heaviest Victoria’s Secret wings: 30 pounds worn by Alessandra Ambrosio in 2011
- Largest Victoria’s Secret wings: 12 feet high worn by Heidi Klum in 2003
Why Do Some of The Models Become Angels and Wear Wings?
Throughout the years, angels and wings has become synonyms for Victoria’s Secret. But it all started with a lingerie line called Angel. Roy Raymond then decided to use the name to indicate their contract spokesmodels, the so-called Angels. This means, that all the Victoria’s Secret Angels has been selected to be ambassadors for the brand. The longest-serving Angel is Adriana Lima who has now served as an Angel and VS ambassador for 16 years. Being a VS angel is a career-making achievement, and seven of the 20 top-earning models of 2016 are VS Angels.
This means, that you can be Victoria’s Secret model, for years even, without being an Angel, an ambassador.
