Want to know what heaven looks like? I followed the Victoria’s Secret Angels all the way to Paris to find out at the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. From Grammy-winning performances by The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and Bruno Mars, to jaw-dropping wings and bionic bodies, the show is one of the most treasured holiday traditions that never fails to disappoint. This year, I ditched the pizza, my couch, and pajamas to go behind the scenes.
On December 5, millions of viewers from 190 countries will tune in to watch the show. But last night, I sat just a few rows away from the most famous catwalk in the world at Paris’s Grand Palais. For the first time in its 21-year history, the Victoria's Secret show traveled to the City of Light to film the sexiest night on television, and it was one of their best shows to date.
The show has become a runway for the biggest models in the industry and this year happens to be the largest yet. More than 5o models showcased 82 looks from the famed lingerie collection, separated by themes such as Dark Angel, Secret Angel, Pink Nation, Mountain Romance, and Bright Night Angel. Familiar faces returned to the runway, including Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Joan Smalls. And of course, the Angels were in attendance. Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jasmine Tookes, Stella Maxwell, Lily Aldridge and many others returned to the runway for the highest profile runway show in the world.
Before the show, backstage was buzzing, dryers were blowing, and selfie mode was in full force. The models were calm but oozed excitement as they got their hair and makeup done. Rachel Hilbert ran around the room interviewing her fellow models, donning the new Snapchat glasses for a VS Pink Snapchat takeover. Gigi and Bella Hadid were a focus of the morning as the first sister duo to ever walk the runway, seated on opposite sides of the room but coming together every few minutes for a photo. I caught a few moments alone with models Gigi, Devon Windsor, and Alanna Arrington, as I asked them about their week in Paris.
“My favorite part of the today is right before the show when everyone puts their wings on. It’s so amazing to see all my friends’ dreams coming true. It’s very emotional,” said Gigi Hadid.
Newcomer Arrington was also ready to take on the runway, bubbling with excitement about her first Victoria’s Secret experience.“Being in the show for my first year is more than a dream come true," she told me. "I’m so emotional but also so excited to get on the runway.”
Although the models look as perfect as it gets on screen, the journey down the runway is definitely no cakewalk. Each model showcased some pretty precious cargo for the evening with looks weighing up to 20 pounds and millions of dollars in worth. Of the 52 models, 43 got to wear the famed Victoria’s Secret wings, some spanning out to 7-feet wide.
Once at the show, I was surprised by how casual the entire evening was in comparison to what’s seen on television. There was a huge sense of camaraderie throughout the room – guests cheered for the models as they appeared on stage while the girls smiled at each other, ushered the room for applause, and grabbed hands as they moved down the runway.
A standout of this year’s show was Lais Ribeiro’s look from The Road Ahead segment. Ribeiro glowed down the runway in a cultural look featuring red knee-high boots and a colorful shrug. Nepalese artist and jewelry designer Arpana Rayamajhi created the look complete with woven fabrics and hand-sewn coins straight from her home country.
“Victoria’s Secret is a global brand. It means everything that they would choose to represent artists from around the world for the work they do and are original to them," she explained. "As a woman from a very specific part of the world that is often overlooked, this is huge for so many Nepali women who feel that our part of the world is neglected in the regional conversation.”
And fantasy is of course a big part of the evening. Jasmine Tookes received huge applause as she walked down the runway wearing the $3 million Bright Night Fantasy Bra designed by Eddie Borgo. Danish model Josephine Skriver also got the crowd going as she danced with Bruno Mars while wearing a 450,000-Swarovski crystal look with sleeves that weighed 10 pounds each.
At the end of the show, the models and performers all joined together on stage in a confetti-filled frenzy, waving to the cheering audience and probably dreaming of all the junk food they were going to have in celebration post-show. Almost every model backstage told me that this year would be one of Victoria’s Secret’s best yet, and they were right.
