July 21, 2012 |
Did you know that the bra that Miranda Kerr wore in the Victoria’s Secret show last November, the Fantasy Treasure Bra, was made up of 3,400 gemstones? An assortment of diamonds, pearls, citrines and aquamarines? That the tassel hanging off it was home to two eight-carat white diamonds? As well as two 14-carat yellow diamonds? That it took 500 hours to hand stitch? That it was worth something ridiculous like $2,500,000?
And did you know that compared to the one Gisele wore back in 2000, that figure is actually loose change? Gisele’s was worth $15m. Or so we read. You might ask why? But to ask why would be like claiming total ignorance of the phenomenon that is Victoria’s Secret. Which at the time of writing this, is coming to London, by the way. Four stories and 22,500 square feet of it are due to hit Bond Street this summer. Whether they’ll be stocking the diamond bra, we don’t yet know. More fascinating facts like this follow.
FACT 1
The Fantasy Treasure Bra, the most bedazzling piece of lingerie we’ve seen this year, was created for the show in collaboration with London Jewelers. Every year the honour goes to a different jeweller. Previous diamond-bra specialists include Damiani, Martin Katz and Mouawad.
FACT 2
Over 10 million people watch this. Well, watched it last year. Yes, 10.3 million human beings the world over switched on their televisions one night to watch women with good hair sport wings. Now that is pretty impressive. And did we mention that it now costs $12 million to put on one show? It used to cost $120,000.
FACT 3
Thirty-eight models took part in the show, which was divided into six themes (Ballet, Super Angels, Passion Play, Angels Aquatic, I Put a Spell on You and Club Pink), and wore 69 outfits between them.
FACT 4
There were 31 sets of wings. Izabel Goulart wore a pair of rotating parasols, Joan Smalls an inflatable cape and Alessandra Ambrosio the Passion Play Fan wings that took Jenny Mercian seven years to create. They were covered in 24-carat gold and 105,000 Swarovski crystals (which, when you realise that a total of around 1 million crystals were used in the show, isn’t really that many). They had a wingspan of 6ft and weighed 30lb. They had six tassels. The tassels alone took a week to make. Compared to this, couture is speedy. Couture is high street.
FACT 5
When an angel is given her first pair of wings she cries. That is how she says thank you for this amazing opportunity. For transforming her into a celestial being. Fact.
FACT 6
Looking this good isn’t easy. Making an angel even more angelic requires 40 cans of So Sexy Style and Hold & Finish Hairspray, 90 applications of VS Makeup Perfect Lipstick, 60 applications of VS Makeup Triple Drama Mascara, 30 bottles of Victoria’s Secret Angel Fragrance Lotion and 60 applications of spray tan. And $50,000 worth of hair extensions. Not to mention 19 hairstylists and 21 make-up artists. Which brings us to…
FACT 7
Adriana Lima, in preparation for the show, didn’t eat solids during the nine days leading up to the show, only protein shakes, and had no liquids for 12 hours before the show. Apparently, if you dry yourself out, you can lose up to 8lb. She also trained twice a day for three weeks. That level of commitment is more Olympian-in-training than model-preparing-to-stalk-runway.
FACT 8
But before you start bitching about the above, Chanel Iman put on 15lb for the show. How? Protein shakes, weightlifting and, yes, she ate solid food.
FACT 9
How do the angels go from fashion-friendly C cups to such eye-popping bosom proportions overnight? Surgery? No. They are not Lolo Ferrari or Jordan. These are angels. Angels wear bras. Push-up ones. Ones that increase your bust by at least two cup sizes. Ones like the Dream Angels push up. Or the Very Sexy, Bombshell or Incredible.
FACT 10
It’s not easy being an angel. Finding love is hard for most of us, but it’s worse when you’re a celestial being. Just ask Candice Swanepoel. “I think it’s harder to date as an angel,” she says. “When people meet you it’s hard to look past our job, what we look like. They are always trying to impress you, you know, like, ‘Come to my mansion, blah, blah, blah.’”
FACT 11
There were dogs here, too. Three bomb-sniffing ones and eight custom-made, pink, mirror-ball ones. The latter suspended over the 100ft runway. Over which was sprinkled 300lb of glitter.
FACT 12
The runway was also home for the night to Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, 30 dancers (20 of which were ballerinas for the appropriately titled Ballet segment of the show), as well as the strutting angels. It can get a little crowded on there.
Victoria’s Secret opens in London’s Bond Street this summer
Photograph by Collier Schorr
by Natalie Dembinska
