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The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which serves as a huge kick-off to the holiday season, has only become more of a must-watch event year after year. The show boasts top-notch musical acts, theatrical elements and gorgeous models dancing around in gorgeous lingerie. What more could one ask for!
The most iconic part of the whole event, however, are the wings! According to The Huffington Post, each year, new Angels are born and current Angels are introduced to yet another massive pair for the runway. The wings not only serve as a rite of passage for the models chosen to wear them, but as a piece of artwork that embodies the sexy aesthetic that is Victoria's Secret.
Wings are made in everything from leather and lace to five pounds of Swarovski crystals. It's no wonder that the lucky ladies who walk in the show wait their entire careers for the moment they get to wear a pair of their own.
The story and process behind these wings are way heavier than one might think. It all starts when an artist, hired by Victoria's Secret, sketches out the concept for a wing. It's then delivered to Victoria's Secret wing-designer, Marian Hose aka Killer, and her design team who bring the wings to life.
"The best part is seeing just how Killer interprets the sketch," Sophia Neophitou, collection creative director for the show, tells The Huffington Post.
After a drawing is finalized, it is projected onto a screen, where a model stands in to figure out scale. The team then gets to work.
"It takes about a week just to make the frame [but] for a more intricate wing it takes much longer. For something beaded, for example, we have an entire team just working on that part of it," Killer says.
"I love having the wings, but I need the freedom to enjoy them as well," Candice Swanepoel, Victoria's Secret Angel, said. "One year (before we worked with Killer), I tried on this massive pair -- two harps. They were absolutely beautiful. On the morning of the show I got really nervous and asked to try them on the runway, and let's just say it didn't go so well. We decided to forfeit them and go for something smaller."
It's clear that the weight and wearability of the wings are just as important as having that perfect runway strut. It takes the right pair and the right girl to hold up the massive structure, which can weigh as much as a small child. The biggest pair Killer has ever made weighed in at 21 pounds: a pair of white, feathered wings made for Lindsey Ellington.
"Lindsey is a real trooper," Killer says, adding, "it doesn't matter how much a girl wants her wings, if they're too heavy we can't use them."
From paper to production, it's clear it takes hard work and dedication in order to make these wings truly work. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show airs Dec 9 on CBS.
Check out the Victoria's Secret Dream Angels 2014 online commercial here:
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