This year for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, Ed Razek and his VS Angels flew all the way to Shanghai for the annual runway show. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is an annual fashion show sponsored by and featuring Victoria’s Secret and their lingerie, put together to promote their products. The show usually takes place in New York City, but during recent years they have made it a destination spectacle. In case you didn’t get a chance to catch the show on CBS last night, here is everything that you missed.
The Models
55 models walked for the show’s 22nd anniversary. One of the complexities of hosting the show abroad included having models approved for visas. Many of them were denied access into China, leaving them out of the show altogether. Models including Gigi Hadid, Julia Belyakova, Kate Grigorieva, and Irina Sharipova were not able to secure visas in order to work the show. It’s rumored that Gigi was denied her visa because of a racist incident in which she made fun of of a Buddha cookie by squinting her eyes. The Chinese Government allegedly restricted the other models from entering because of their Russian heritage.
Returning models include Bella Hadid, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, and Candice Swanepoel. Amilna Estevão and Roosmarijn de Kok were amongst the show’s newbie angels.
The Fantasy Bra
This year’s Fantasy Bra was worn by the stunning Lais Ribero. Made with 18k gold, the bra is worth around $2 million, and is covered with 6,000 gemstones including sapphire and topaz.
The Performers
VSFS outdid themselves with the performances this year. Performances were held by none other than Harry Styles, Miguel, Jane Zhang, and Leslie Odom Jr. Katy Perry was meant to make an appearance for a performance as well, but similar to Gigi she was allegedly unable to have her visa approved because of an “insensitive” and outfit supporting anti-China protesters, which she wore during a performance in 2015 in Taipei.
The Drama
What would a runway show be without a fall? Ming Xi took a tumble, marking the first runway fall in Victoria’s Secret history! In response to the fall, CBS tweeted “It’s not about how we fall, it’s about how we get up.” Another piece of drama is that it was reported that Kendall Jenner was not asked to return for the show this year. Because of all the problems with the approval of visas, and the strict regulations on the show itself including the models’ outfits, it is unlikely that VS will be returning to China for another one of its shows.