Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2016: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful
As the 2016 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show officially came to an end with the airing of the TV special, the dust from the live show in Paris was just settling on social media.
Perhaps the biggest moment of the show was Bella Hadid’s encounter with ex-boyfriend The Weeknd on the runway. Many people thought Bella was giving the singer side eye as she walked past him in sheer grey lingerie, but others thought it was a sweet moment between friends, a position that was supported by Bella’s public praise of The Weeknd’s performance on Instagram.
Along with The Weeknd, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars also performed at the show. As the headliner, Lady Gaga performed two songs from her newly released album, Joanne, and Bruno Mars did the same with 24K Magic.
But the performers were not the stars of the show. Almost more than any other year, the 2016 show was almost completely about the models, themselves – perhaps more so than the pieces being shown. But with models like Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Taylor Hill and Adriana Lima, who could blame them?
There were several interviews with the models and a focus on their journey to the show, and the producers made sure audiences knew that VS models were taking over the world – both in fashion and on social media. There were references to other significant fashion shows (particularly in Paris fashion week) and the VS models that were in them, but some angels were noticeably missing.
Crowd favorites Candice Swanepoel and Behati Prinsloo were of course spending time with their newborn children, and Karlie Kloss had another commitment – modeling-related, of course. There was speculation that Cara Delevingne might walk the show, even without casting, after posting a personal letter from a Victoria’s Secret official, but she was (disappointingly) in the Maldives with family.
Although Candice and Behati chose to sit this show out, Irina Shayk didn’t let her early pregnancy stop her from walking in the show. She announced the same day – just after the show – that she was expecting her first child with Bradley Cooper, which came as a shock to even the models in the show with her.
Unlike in other shows, there was barely any mention of the actual construction of the costumes or the generation of themes. The themes, themselves, were rather broad and unclear, but beautiful nonetheless. One theme included what seemed to be an around-the-world portion, with outfits ranging from Chinese dragons (which garnered some backlash for appropriating culture) to Spanish matadors.
Other themes included flowers (poppies, specifically) and Dutch costumes, black and white ensembles with smokey wings, a seemingly dominatrix-inspired collection, and of course an assortment of sparkly bodysuits.
Finally, the Fantasy Bra, featured on Jasmine Tookes, combined the sparkle of millions of dollars worth of Swarovski crystals with the elegance of emerald green beads, lace, and tassels. Although not accompanied by wings, the Fantasy Bra dazzled viewers everywhere.
To see some of our favorite looks from the show, click through the gallery below:
