Top 10 Behind the Scenes Secrets About the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
The Victoria's Secret Fashion show is a huge production every year. Here are 10 secrets you might now know about the show! The show is actually held twice. Footage from the two shows is edited together to create the final product that is eventually aired on TV. While this may seem a little disingenuous, it's pretty common practice to do multiple shoots for many other types of entertainment. That's why you never see a model stumble on the runway at the VS fashion show! Did you know that one of Fantasy Bras set a guiness world record? Typically though, the fantasy bras aren't ever sold and end up being dismantled after the show takes place.
#10: Social Media Is Banned
According to members of the media who are invited to watch the show live while it’s being taped, there is a strict ban on social media, for obvious reasons. Since the show isn’t aired live, they wouldn’t want any spoilers getting out to ruin the buzz around the show. One editor from Cosmopolitan stated that security was ready with little baggies and actually took their phones away before the show started. Of course, for some people, the rules don’t apply. The celebs who score front row seats can Snap and Insta their way through the show if they want to.
#9: Models Fight Over Their Outfits
The competition to be cast in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is understandably fierce, but even when the final picks have been made, the struggle to come out on top doesn’t end. While she asserted that the girls really do get along, in a 2014 interview, Adriana Lima said that they still fight about their outfits. More specifically, she said it’s a struggle for who gets to wear the biggest angel wings. Considering how over the top some of the outfits are, it doesn’t come as a surprise that each model wants to be put in the most show-stopping piece.
#8: There Is Sometimes Only One Bathroom Backstage
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It turns out that being a model in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show isn’t always as glamorous as it might seem. A fashion editor who attended the 2015 edition of the show, which took place at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York, spilled the beans that there was, shockingly, only one bathroom backstage, for all 47 models! That’s not even counting the hairdressers, makeup artists, photographers, media and other staff members who are helping out backstage. We don’t even want to imagine what those lineups were like before the show!
#7: The Show Has Aired Every Year Since 2001...Except 2004
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The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has become an annual tradition since it began airing for TV audiences in 2001, but there was one year where the show did not go on. In 2004, after the controversy created by Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, the organizers decided that the social climate wasn’t right for the show. Instead they went on the “Angels Across America Tour,” which had top models like Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum making multiple appearances across the U.S.
#6: They Go Through a Lot of Beauty Products
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As you can imagine, getting a few dozen models ready for this high profile fashion event is no easy task- and takes a huge team to accomplish. All of the hair and makeup has to look flawless both up close and from afar, so crafting the perfect look can be a challenge. Adriana Lima says it typically takes about five hours to get ready and to keep everything in place; models also go through approximately 40 cans of hairspray for the big night and around 150 tubes of lipgloss backstage, just in case!
#5: The Wings Are HEAVY!
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One of the most impressive and memorable parts of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show each year is the incredibly crafted wings that the Angels wear. While there are some more wearable consumer-oriented items showcased on the runway, many of the pieces on display are more for the sake of the live production; and the wings fit squarely into this category. As if walking down the catwalk in your skivvies isn’t enough pressure, some of the pairs of wings can be seriously heavy. They can weigh as much as 40 pounds!
#4: Models Have to Have Specific Body Measurements
As you can imagine, only the select few elite models are actually chosen to model in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. It turns out the company has pretty rigorous standards for what the girls’ bodies should look like, and if you don’t meet them, it’s unlikely you’ll be cast.The minimum height requirement is five feet nine inches, so shorter girls need not apply. They also require a BMI of under 18%, which many models have to diet to achieve, though others actually had to bulk up in order to fulfill the ideal image of a VS Angel.
#3: No Set Diet for the Models
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Over the years, many rumors have been tossed around about what Victoria’s Secret models eat in order to get their bodies runway-ready, but the reality is, it’s unlikely that there is one cohesive plan that all of the Angels follow. While many of the models claim to eat whatever they want and still maintain their ideal measurements, Adriana Lima has been open about how grueling her diet plan is before the show. She says that for nine days before the big event, she subsists on a liquid-only diet and that 12 hours before the show she consumes nothing at all. Not even water!
#2: The Show Is Actually Filmed Twice
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One little known fact about this high-profile fashion show is that each year, on the day the event is held, the production is actually done twice in a row to ensure that no major mishaps end up in the final version. Footage from the two shows is edited together to create the final product that is eventually aired on TV. While this may seem a little disingenuous, it’s pretty common practice to do multiple shoots for many other types of entertainment. That’s why you never see a model stumble on the runway at the VS fashion show! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. There Are Models from Every Continent (Except Antarctica!) One Man, John Pfeiffer, Makes the Final Decision About Who Walks in the Show
#1: One of the Fantasy Bras Set a Guinness World Record
Every year, one spectacular over-the-top bra is created for the show and designated as the “Fantasy Bra”. These garments are typically laden with jewels and crystals, and can fetch a remarkable price tag. In 2000, Gisele Bündchen wore the most expensive one ever created, the (untelevised) Red Hot Fantasy Bra, which was valued at $15 million and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive piece of lingerie ever created to that point. Typically though, the fantasy bras aren’t ever sold, just marveled over!
