While Simon was enjoying a short break after a day of running around in his Fifth Avenue apartment, the Lexington Avenue Armory was already abuzz.
It's approaching seven o'clock.
The show hall was already full of spectators, and with the drum-beating waiting music, they began to look towards the backstage exit, expecting the angel to come.
In the busy and unhurried backstage, the angels of the first major theme, 'Call of the Wild', have already entered their stations under the arrangement of the staff. Stephanie Seymour stands at the forefront, wearing a cape, a feather crown on her head, and a delicate face There were also just a few strokes of oil paint on the dress, which made her look like a queen. There were six staff around her to help her check the last details of her clothes and hairstyle, striving for perfection.
Nancy Gauff ranked second.
Different from Stephanie Seymour's condescending queen style, this baby-faced model wears darker eyeshadow, neat short hair, and an equally capable female warrior suit and a short blade clamped on her arm as a decoration, like A sexy and dangerous jungle assassin.
Gauff was only surrounded by Grace's assistant Michelle Sonnam and another official Victoria's Secret stylist.
The gap in treatment is obvious.
However, Tracy Gauff knew that Stephanie Seymour only had two official staff members, and the other four were all invited by herself. She could not help but be envious in her heart, and she also felt that the reputation in this circle was not considered important. A good woman is a little too aggressive.
A reminder of the three-minute countdown came to her ears. Qusi Gauff tried not to look at the "big battle" next to Seymour. She was brewing emotions for going on stage. She suddenly heard a scream from Michelle next to her and turned to look. In the past, a small man wearing a staff uniform appeared out of nowhere and suddenly bumped into Michelle. The other person actually had a cup of coffee in his hand, and at this time, it had completely splashed on Michelle's clothes.
Before Kris Gauff could react, the stylist who had been bending down to help her adjust the straps on her legs quickly stood up, glanced at her, and stood between her and the little man who bumped into her. He asked sternly: "Who are you? Don't move again, David, David."
After a brief commotion, the small man who appeared inexplicably was twisted and forced out by two tall and strong on-site security guards.
Nancy Gauff was not stupid at all, and she quickly figured it out.
Suddenly, a fear surged from the soles of his feet and rushed straight into his mind.
It was less than three minutes before the show started. If that cup of coffee had just been spilled on her... she didn't dare think about what she would do next.
At a certain moment, I suddenly understood why Stephanie Seymour hired a bunch of assistants to guard her.
Who are they
Grace Spulte was originally comforting Daniela Pusteva, who was also nervous about participating in the first theme in the back row. She noticed the movement here, hurriedly walked over, and glanced at the woman, half of her body covered with coffee. Michelle looked at the week with sharp eyes and looked at the innocent faces of the big goblins around her. She knew that now was not the time to pursue the case, and it might not be easy to pursue the case afterwards. She could only comfort the pale Qusi Gauff: " Qu Si, take a deep breath, don’t be nervous, take a deep breath.”
The first theme required the coolness and arrogance of an angel. The emotions that had been brewing in Qu Si Gauff were all dissipated because of the fright just now. Although the coffee was not poured on her, her momentum was already like a poor kitten after being soaked in the rain. She was as obedient as a cat. Grace took a deep breath, but the girl couldn't help but whispered: "Gray, I'm a little scared."
"Don't be afraid, baby, you are the best. Think about why others do this. They are jealous of you. Are you going to let them succeed?"
"no, do not want."
"Very good," Grace said, taking out a small piece of chocolate from her bag and stuffing it into the girl's mouth: "Come on, hold it, imagine, after tonight, they will only be more jealous of you, you are only 18 years old , but you are already the spokesperson of Victoria's Secret. You can also participate in Simon Westeros's movies and steal more endorsements from them. What else can they do except be jealous? They can do nothing but envy of you."
The taste of milky chocolate came from the mouth, and the taste buds, which had been on a diet for more than three months, greedily enjoyed this beauty. Qu Si Gauff's amber eyes also became bright again with Grace's words.
But, suddenly I seemed to have forgotten a lot of things.
The first theme is, which pace to use, how to match your own rhythm, how to set the point...
OMG!
Grace noticed the confusion in Qu Si's bright eyes, realized the girl's problem, and comforted her: "Baby, do you remember how many times you practiced for this opening?"
Nancy Goff shook her head.
Grace said: "I don't remember either, but there must have been hundreds of times. You know, people usually develop instincts after doing something dozens of times. You practice it hundreds of times, and it's all so good." Perfect, there is nothing to worry about, so don’t think about anything now, take a deep breath, follow your feeling, and remember, you can do it.”
"Yeah, I can do that."
"OK, would you like another piece of chocolate?"
Qu Si Gauff immediately had some pitiful expectations: "Yes."
"Save it first, and I will reward you with two yuan when I come back."
Qusi Gauff suddenly showed an expression of condemnation, but the corners of her mouth slightly raised, her body relaxed unconsciously, and she bargained: "Then I want three yuan."
"Do you want to be eaten like a little raccoon?"
"Raccoons are cute."
"Okay, actually I wanted to say, pig."
After being strictly controlled and trained by Grace for several months, Tracy Gauff unknowingly formed a certain dependence on her agent. She was not angry when she heard this. Instead, she was like a child who wanted to come over and act coquettishly, but Grace was Stop, it will be troublesome if you mess up the shape.
While chatting like this, the voice suddenly reminded loudly again, counting down to 30 seconds.
The waiting music in the front hall has stopped.
Intense instructions came from the headsets of the on-site dispatching staff, and soon, a fierce prelude sounded, which was "The Phoenix".
Phoenix.
Finally, Grace Gauff gave an encouraging look, and Grace stepped back. Michelle, who still had coffee on her clothes, did not go away to change clothes, but was obviously vigilant in the other side of Tracy Gauff. one side.
"Put on your war paint!"
The lyrics rang out.
The voice in the headset came again uniformly: "Three... two... one, GO!"
Stephanie Seymour appears.
In the hall, amid the shocking and passionate singing, all the audience looked towards the stage together.
Jungle Queen.
A scissor step as powerful as nails.
Arrogant, cold and arrogant, wild.
There may be various controversies in private, but at this moment, Stephanie Seymour is the one that all the audience looks up to, regardless of gender.
Needing no reminder, a round of applause accompanies Stephanie Seymour's appearance.
Peter Brandt, the Manhattan billionaire who got a seat in the first row of the left-hand stand because of his personal relationship, looked at his fiancée on the stage and felt the fierce emotions of many men around him. He suddenly felt the urge to marry this woman home as soon as possible. impulse.
For such a stunner who will definitely only add glory to a man, it doesn't seem so difficult to accept a little concession on the prenuptial agreement.
What's more, she is already the mother of her own child.
Stephanie Seymour walked to the end of the catwalk, fixed her position, turned around, and skillfully flicked her cape. Her bold gesture instantly triggered another burst of screams.
As the girl began to turn around, the attention of the audience in the hall began to turn to Tracy Gauff, who appeared second.
The fiery atmosphere around her made Qu Si Gauff's mind completely blank.
However, practicing hundreds of times in private has indeed formed an instinct. The nimble steps that are slightly different from Stephanie Seymour firmly keep the rhythm, and the dark gothic dress also attracted a lot of eyeballs and applause.
The debut, which lasted only a few dozen seconds, was flawless.
Backstage, if Grace, who had quick eyesight and quick hands, had not stepped forward to help her in time, the girl almost collapsed and fell to the ground.
In the first two Victoria's Secret shows, Qusi Gauff, who was just a newbie in the industry, looked at the Victoria's Secret angels on the screen who kept crossing themselves on their chests. After finishing the show, she reacted with excitement as if she had won a battle, because she couldn't To avoid being mixed with jealousy and envy, I just felt pretentious at the time.
It's just a catwalk show, so there's no need to be so nervous and there's no need to be so excited.
Now, I am in it, feeling the boiling atmosphere of the scene and the gazes of thousands of people in front of and behind the scenes. I can't help but think of the consequences if something goes wrong. The pressure in my heart increases sharply. A 20-meter T stage, coming and going, is like He ran two kilometers at top speed.
Only then did I understand.
There was nothing pretentious about those reactions.
It's all true.
I am even more unbearable.
The only good thing is that I only had to go through three of the six themes tonight. Although I was pulled to change the costume of the third theme without any rest time, I still had a little buffer.
When I came to the changing room, the costume assistant quickly took off all the clothes on my body. She was not shy. She just looked at Grace who followed her into the changing room and asked expectantly: "Gray, how did I perform?"
There are also display screens backstage at the show.
Grace took out a piece of chocolate and stuffed it into the girl's mouth, smiling: "Great, I told you, you can do it."
Kris Gauff also smiled.
Enjoying the small piece of chocolate in his mouth, he suddenly pretended to be dissatisfied: "Gray, why do I feel like a baby seal in an aquarium, the kind that is fed after a performance."
Grace smiled and shook another piece of chocolate in her hand: "Do you want more?"
Qusi Gauff suddenly lost the courage to argue: "Yes."
Grace tapped the girl's forehead lightly, but didn't give it to her. She said, "I'm going to see how Eva is getting ready. Be good." After saying this, she told Michelle who still hadn't had time to change out of her clothes. With that, he hurriedly left the changing room.
During the brief interlude between Tracy Gauff and her manager, the four-minute first theme ended successfully.
In the stands of the show hall, "VOGUE" editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who also has a prime position in the first row, carefully recalled all the details of the theme just now, and the prototype of an article was quickly sketched in her mind.
Since the inception of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, conservatives have been criticizing this fashion show for being indecent, vulgar, objectifying women, etc. However, professional media people in the fashion industry can feel the importance of every detail of this show. Striving for excellence is just the first theme. Anna Wintour can be sure that the entire fashion circle can find inspiration from it in the next year.
Not to mention that Simon Westeros composed the background music "The Phoenix" himself.
According to the latest statistics, the total sales of the first Victoria's Secret video tapes have exceeded an astonishing 27 million boxes. In addition to a group of perfect ODYs that are absolutely worth collecting, many viewers are here for those created by Simon Westeros himself. Five pieces of background music that went straight onto many song charts.
Although there were no songs provided by Westeros himself in the second Victoria's Secret edition, 12 million video tapes were sold in the same year because it included the original original releases of famous singer groups such as the Backstreet Boys.
This time, not to mention anything else, just the first theme song "The Phoenix" is probably enough to support tens of millions of video sales.
The 'Super Bowl' of the fashion industry is well deserved.
The price is definitely high.
Anna Wintour inquired with Victoria's Secret CEO Grace Nichols in advance and learned that the total investment in this show had reached 30 million US dollars.
30 million US dollars.
If it weren't for the fact that this fashion event itself can earn huge profits through TV broadcasts, video sales and other channels, the Victoria's Secret brand itself would not be able to afford such a budget.
I just don't know how long this glory can last.
However, I suddenly felt that even if it stopped one day, these images would be enough to be passed down for a long time.
This is the power of classics.
There was a brief pause while thinking, and another topic soon began.
Different from the excitement of "The Call of the Wild", the second theme "Snow Falling in Color" appears ethereal and light, and the BGM also changes to pure music. The opening is Cindy Crawford, the most stunning among the six Victoria's Secret spokespersons. , as the angel entered, snowflakes fell from the ceiling of the hall.
Of course they are not real snowflakes, but they make the whole theme more dreamy.
Cindy Crawford, Yasmin Gehry, Claudia Schiffer, Carla Bruni, Ella Macpherson... until the last closing member Eva Herzgova.
Each angel is familiar.
Even in the four major fashion weeks, there are only a few brands that can gather these big names, but now they only appear in one theme of the Victoria's Secret show.
Just this appearance budget is quite large.
Even this is no longer a problem that can be solved by pure money.
There are unspoken rules in any circle, and big names will try to avoid cooperation with each other as much as possible.
However, the Victoria's Secret show is an alternative existence in the fashion circle.
In recent years, being able to appear on the Victoria's Secret runway has become a status symbol.
The title of 'supermodel' that emerged in the 1980s was basically the result of the agency's own hype, so it is inevitable that there is always a lack of some well-deserved titles.
Now, the fashion section of the Igret portal has made a list by calculating the points of the models' magazine covers, advertising endorsements, brand shows and other elements. Only the top ten can be called 'supermodels', and Along with the permanent accumulation of points, a permanent supermodel medal similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame was created.
This list, which is highly authoritative because it is closely followed by millions of netizens in real time, has unknowingly become the ranking that models in the fashion industry care about the most. Many businesses will also refer to this list to choose cooperation. object.
In the ranking of the list, whether you have logged into the Victoria's Secret T stage plays a large role. Because of the wide popularity of the Victoria's Secret show, not many netizens question the weight of the Victoria's Secret Angel status.
Therefore, if a model cannot even make it to the Victoria's Secret catwalk and then calls herself a 'supermodel', it is inevitable that she will not be worthy of her name.
While Anna Wintour was a little regretful that "VOGUE" could not launch a similar list, she couldn't help but flash the figure of 'Black Pearl' Naomi Campbell in her mind. This once recognized black supermodel is really a pity because she is too I don’t know how to behave, so I have been turned away from the first Victoria’s Secret Show. Until now, it is said that I have been persuaded several times, but I have not been able to get a ticket.
Therefore, since the launch of the Ygritte Portal list, this former black supermodel has never been able to enter the previous life of the list.
Due to the fierce competition in the fashion industry, the lack of the widest exposure platform of the Victoria's Secret Show, coupled with the chain reaction caused by this, Naomi Campbell's popularity has long ceased in recent years.
If you walk well on the stage, what can you do
Look at the current T stage. It is said that due to Simon Westeros’s strict requirements, any model who has appeared on the Victoria’s Secret T stage in recent years, even some established supermodels, has very obvious stage walking skills. With the progress, Naomi Campbell's previous advantages are no longer any advantages.