Top models wearing gold wings and diamond-encrusted bras strutted the
London catwalk on Tuesday in the first Victoria’s Secret annual
lingerie show to be held in the British capital.
The event was billed as the US company’s most expensive ever with a price
tag of 20 million dollars (16 million euros), and featured some of the world’s
best-paid models including Brazil’s Adriana Lima.
Only the second time the show has been held outside the United States
since 1995, the event began on a glamourous note with the so-called
“Victoria’s Secret Angels” dressed in white and sporting gold wings.
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran took to the stage to perform his
hit “Thinking Out Loud” as models walked the catwalk in colourful
outfits inspired by exotic destinations.
US superstars Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande also performed in the
show in London — a city chosen over Paris because of its
“convergence” between
fashion and music, according to marketing director Ed Razek.”The show
is seen in 192 countries, the show is seen by 500 million people. That
is completely unique in the industry. No one does what we do,” Razek
said.
Wearing long dark tresses and capes, Lima and fellow Brazilian
Alessandra Ambrosio exhibited “Fantasy Bras” created by jeweller
Mouawad, each studded
with 16,000 precious stones including diamonds, rubies and sapphires valued at
2 million dollars. Swift, dressed in a pink and black negligee,
performed her single “Blank Space” in part of the show inspired by
dreams and decorated with pearlescent balloons.
A change in ambiance arrived in the fourth section of the show, which
was hosted by Grande and was dedicated to the brand’s more casual PINK
line aimed at students, with models dressed in leopard prints and
bright colours. Irish musician Hozier then performed his hit debut
“Take Me to Church” as models dressed in pale green and pink with
transparent fairy wings strutted in a magical setting of white trees
and autumn leaves.
Swift then returned to the stage to bring the show to a close with a
black and white themed performance as the Angels modelled garter belts
and stockings
sets.
‘Absurd’ controversy’
Among the 47 “Angels” chosen to represent the brand were Candice Swanepoel,
Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes and Karlie Kloss — the latter appeared wearing
18-carat gold wings. Created in 1977 and with 1,000 stores in the
United States, Victoria’s Secret is the market leader there and made
6.68 billion dollars from sales last year.
It has been on the British market since 2005 and has a flagship store
on London’s New Bond Street, one of 15 outlets in the country. This
year’s show at the Earl’s Court exhibition centre will be shown on
December 9 by CBS television in around 200 countries.
The flashy brand is not to everyone’s taste, however. Three British
students led a successful social media campaign that forced the
company earlier this month to change its adverts featuring models
wearing its new “Body” bras under the slogan: “The Perfect ‘Body’.”
The ad now reads: “A Body for Every Body.”
But Razek dismissed the controversy as “absurd” as he said the company
had never intended to present “an example of the one and only perfect
body in the world”. Describing the models as “healthy” and
“confident”, Razek said that those
who performed in the show were “genuinely nice women” who defied
stereotypes.
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“The image of a vacuous supermodel who never eats and only worries
about what she looks like is certainly not the image of our girls,” he
said. Swedish model Elsa Hosk said she had prepared for the show,
which has helped launch the career of several famous supermodels, with
“a lot of different workouts” including a mix of ballet and
boxing.
“It’s one of the biggest shows that you can walk in as a model,” she
told AFP ahead of the event.”It’s such an honour for a model to walk
in this show, just because it’s huge publicity for us.” Dutch model
Kroes said: “It feels really special.” (Jessica Berthereau, AFP)
Photos: Vogue
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