Victoria’s Secret almost broke the internet when it announced that Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner would be joining the angels’ family. It was indeed palpably thrilling for the fans to see these two modeling gemstones rising to the ultimate runway world:– the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
Like the majority of the fans out there, I was excited for the fashion show too, at first. Yet such excitement was soon being replaced by disappointment when I saw photos of models walking down the aisle with hideous and overly embellished costumes. The fantasy bra ensemble was the bigger letdown.
“The Fantasy Bra” had always been the pinnacle of the show, not only because of the astronomical price and hours of labor required to construct it, but due to its intricate design and craftsmanship. Those made by Mouawad and London Jewelers were deemed to be the definition of glamour.
The first “Fantasy Bra” made by Mouawad, namely “The Heavenly Star Bra” was worn by Heidi Klum in 2001. The bra’s design was definitely a lucid personification of the title per se; it looked like a galore of sparkling angel wings! Not to mention the 90 karat diamond in the middle of the bra which represented the star being guarded by the wings.
Fast forward 12 years, another Mouawad fantasy bra called “The Royal Fantasy Bra” was made, and worn by one of the recent sensational angels: Candice Swanepoel. The design was more or less similar to “The Heavenly Star bra” except this one was more eye-catching and chromatic. Instead of sheer diamonds, this bra was composed of 18 karat gold, rubies and yellow and blue sapphires, mirroring the jewels of Indian royals.
Yet such an aristocratic undergarment was paired with two plain white gloves which completely clashed with the extravagant embellishments. Personally, I think it would have been better off to have worn a crown or a cape than these ghastly gloves.
Speaking of gloves, in the same year Cara Delevinge wore a pair of plastic yellow gloves to ‘match’ her black lace, fairy-theme lingerie.
This year’s “Fantasy Bra” was also made by Mouawad and was entitled: “The Firework Fantasy Bra”. The bra itself was flawless, with an exquisite design and straps embedded with precious gems. The bra was also adorned with two spirals of gemstones that resembled fireworks on either side. Without a doubt it required very high levels of skill and patience! I was for sure looking forward to seeing Lily sultrily pose in her $2 million bra in the show, especially after watching her fitting video.
However, it was a little confusing to see her wearing a red bra underneath her fantasy bra. The red totally didn’t match and who wears two bras at the same time anyway?!
The “Fantasy Treasure Bra” of 2011 was my favourite, when Miranda Kerr took centre stage. With the theme “Aquatic Angels”, Kerr stormed the runway in her scallop shaped celeste blue bra with matching lace thong and shimmery high heels. Carrying pearls, aquamarines and citrines in the front, and a glistening clam like costume at the back, Kerr effortlessly swooned the whole audience.
Back to this year’s show… I want to point out that it was not merely the “Firework Fantasy Bra” that was a mistake, the rest of the costumes were just the same.
The purpose of having a costume is to compliment the lingerie. Victoria’s Secret decided to do the complete opposite and hide it, or to draw attention to a billion other things aside from the bra. Here are a few examples:
Where is your bra Leonmie Andreson?
Ming Xi should I be look at your tu-tu, the balloons or your bra?
Martha Hunt are you supposed to look like a butterfly or a boho cowgirl?
The major disappointment was Taylor Hill’s costumes. Hill is one of the new angel faces with an experienced modeling background. She has modeled for Fendi, McQueen, Balmain, Versa and many other high end fashion brands. She is one of the rare models in the show who can walk with the adequate charm of a sweet angel mixed with a devilish, diva-like element. I was therefore expecting her to shine on stage, instead she was assigned two rather boring costumes.
Excessive and distracting fringes
Plain red and blue underwear, really?!
Hill’s were not even the worst. Swanepoel’s bikini was the most ordinary garment I’ve ever seen! The tribal print was hideous but the design of the bikini was even worse!
The lingerie designs were not much better. In the ‘Firework Bra’ show, most of the thongs had the same design, only in different colors. Once more, Ambrosio’s turquoise thong was almost the same as that of Hadid’s. I hope the designers at Victoria’s Secrets were seeking unity rather than running out of ideas.
But then again, action speaks louder than words. On December 8th at 9 pm head to CBS, or on December 9th at 9 pm go to Channel 4 for UK viewers, and you judge whether the Victoria’s Secret fashion show 2015 was a sellout or not.