Nov. 14, 2013 10:18 p.m. ET
A $10 million bejeweled bra is a tough act to follow, but Taylor Swift plus a parade of supermodels in barely-there lingerie did their best.
Ms. Swift headlined the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, the annual lingerie festival filmed Wednesday night at the Lexington Avenue Armory and airing Dec. 10 on CBS. The hourlong show typically doles out its big moments, including the jewel-encrusted "fantasy bra" and the big musical name, late in the taping. But this year it jumped right to it, with "angel" Candice Swanepoel opening the catwalk wearing the $10 million bra, custom-made to fit her body with more than 4,200 gem stones.
Ms. Swift led the musical lineup, which was decidedly more eclectic if less star-studded than in prior years. (In 2011, Kanye West performed with a surprise appearance by Jay-Z. Last year, there was the triple header of Rihanna, Justin Bieber[1] and Bruno Mars. ) U.S. rockers Fall Out Boy performed, as did British girl group Neon Jungle, singing their song "Trouble"—not to be confused with Ms. Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble," which closed the show. Ian Axel, of the singer-songwriter duo A Great Big World, was also in the mix, winning the prize for the first male performer we've seen who didn't try to touch a model while on stage.
Front-row notables included Adam Levine, who leapt to his feet to give fiancée Behati Prinsloo a standing ovation during one of her turns on the catwalk. In the next section over, designer Valentino Garavani was a surprising sight at this commercial event.
Also in the audience were Wall Street analysts keeping a close watch on parent company L Brands Inc. John Kernan, a research analyst with Cowen & Co. published a report to investors Thursday morning with the subject line, "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show And After Party Was Amazing." The report discussed the brand's potential to expand overseas, estimating that the show will air in more than 180 countries and only three of the eight model-angels who led the show are from the U.S.
Clearly, potential for growth outside the U.S. was on the show producers' minds. The first themed costume segment was British Invasion, which can't be a coincidence due to the brand's relatively new presence in the U.K.
Jourdan Dunn, a model from the U.K., walked in that segment and said she helps stay calm by telling herself: "It'll be over in three minutes and then you can drink." It was Ms. Dunn's second time appearing in the show, and she said she wouldn't do anything differently from her first time. "Same old, same old. Be cute and sexy," she said.
Adriana Lima, a Brazilian angel, walked in the show for the 13th time. She lamented that she didn't have more time to prepare. "I did not work out as much as I would love to," she said as she took a break backstage during the hair and makeup prep. A seasoned veteran, Ms. Lima offered her perspective on what viewers should take away from the annual spectacle. "It's bringing the Christmas into everybody's life," she said. "It's to show Christmas shoppers what to give to your special girlfriend."
Ms. Swanepoel sees another benefit. "It's one of the last things that really celebrates the supermodel, that really celebrates us being able to be sexy and show our personalities," she said. And what about the rest of us, the non-glamazon masses? It's about "empowering women as well not to be afraid to be over-the-top, to go out with their big hair and makeup," she said.
Write to Elizabeth Holmes at elizabeth.holmes@wsj.com[2]
0 comments:
Post a Comment