What It Really Takes to Pull Off the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Originally appeared on E! Online

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is more than just lights, cameras and angels.

Indeed, bringing heaven to Earth with dozens of models requires a lot of work, money and (almost) back-breaking moves—thanks to those angel wings. Just ask creative director Adam Selman.

“Whenever you see the show, everyone is perfectly timed in their sections,” he exclusively told E! News on the pink carpet. “I want this show to feel like a train, so you’re just going through and each one just keeps it moving. It’s just a blast, it’s so fun.”

And it doesn’t come cheap, either.

“I’m the one conduit between the musical acts, the models, the creation of the clothes, the music that sets the tone and the stage design,” he explained. “It’s just a lot of expenditure—I mean that in all the joyful ways.”

While the VS team works furiously behind the scenes to put finishing touches on the day of the annual event, the models—which included sisters Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid, as well as Emily Ratajkowski and Behati Prinsloo—began making their way backstage at 8 a.m., according to the call sheet obtained by E! News.

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Although they arrived at the venue 11 hours before actually hitting the runway, it wasn’t all work and no play. In fact, Dylan Sprouse revealed to E! that he and wife Barbara Palvin—who stunned in two looks during the evening’s show—had FaceTimed all day.

“There’s a lot of time in between,” the Suite Life of Zack and Cody alum added. “They’ve been preparing all day and I’ve got a lot of time in between—I saw her at lunch.”

Just like the crew and creative team, models start prepping for the event much earlier. In fact, Dylan noted that Barbara—who is still recovering from breaking her foot a month prior—had “trained for months.”

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret

This year, the supermodel told Us Weekly that she opted for one-pound wings due to her injury—a stark contrast from last year’s 40-pound accessory that was adorned with mirror feathers.

With several women donning massive angel wings on the runway, it’s no surprise that they had been getting ready at their homes and in the gym. Alessandra Ambrosio—who revealed on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2014 that her 2011 jewel-encrusted accessories weighed nearly 60 pounds—shared her routine ahead of the fashion show, including cardio, weight training and a strict diet.

“I try to be healthy,” she explained on Instagram last October, while eating avocado toast. “In a little bit, I’m gonna be working out again because that’s my everyday routine for the show. For the show, I’m sure to focus on lean protein and vegetables.”

Now, to see Alessandra and more models at the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, keep reading.

Candice Swanepoel, Adriana Lima, Joan Smalls, Bella Hadid, Angel Reese, Jasmine Tookes, Alex Consani, Gigi Hadid, Yasmin Wijnaldum, Alessandra Ambrosio