Inside The 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Some light up, others are pretty in pink and still more
burst forth like fireworks.

Yes, Tuesday is Victoria’s Secret sexpot angel time, though
the masses will have to wait until 10 p.m. EST on Dec. 8 to watch the 20th
annual lingerie extravaganza on CBS. This is just the taping, including musical
performances by The Weeknd, Ellie Goulding and Selena Gomez, after Rihanna
abruptly canceled.

Veteran VS walkers such as Lily Aldridge and Alessandra
Ambrosio will be joined by newbie angels, including Martha Hunt and Elsa Hosk.
Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid are among the non-winged supermodels new to the
glitzy show that generates weeks of advance buzz.

In all, 47 models were scheduled to strut the runway in 75
looks at a Manhattan armory later Tuesday. But first, there was hair and makeup
to be done and a “pink carpet” of celebrity guests to be walked.
Caitlyn Jenner was among those expected, to cheer on daughter Kendall.

Hadid said backstage that she has big respect for the
veteran angels and hopes to earn her own wings one day. Brand new angel Rachel
Hilbert, from Rochester, New York, is in the Pink USA squad on the runway, and
was also in awe of the longtime ladies, including Brazilian beauty Adriana
Lima, seated just inches away on a comfy white couch in rollers.

“Uh, yeah, Adriana Lima. She’s sitting right there,”
Hilbert smiled as all sat in satin, pink-and-white striped robes, curlers in
their hair, while manicures, pedicures, spray tanning and makeup were under
way. “She’s such a sweetheart. Her advice was just breathe and just take
it in.”

So how were the nerves for the newcomers?

“Actually, surprisingly, not bad,” Hadid said.
“I was really nervous in rehearsal … but I’m sure once I get in the
lineup I’m going to be really nervous.”

She’ll be sharing the stage with Gomez and Goulding.

“I
love both of them, so I’m really excited,” said Hadid, who fell to the
floor and gasped in a video of her audition, when she was told she was picked.

As for her famous curves, she prepared with the help of
boxing and ballet.

“A lot of sweating and then just focusing on smaller
parts because when everything’s in high-def you have to not forget about the
little things,” Hadid said. “I’ve watched the show my entire life and
this has been such a dream.”

Among the showpieces teased in advance were Aldridge in a
$2 million demi-bra of 18-karat gold, encrusted with 6,500 diamonds, blue
topaz, yellow sapphires and other precious stones fashioned like blasts of
streaky color. It was this year’s iteration of the Fantasy Bra in a fireworks
design created by jewelry company Mouawad.

Meanwhile, the folks over at Swarovski, one of the show’s
sponsors, had a hand in a corset sparkling with 90,000 gold, red, green and
blue crystals. Hunt had the privilege of previewing the look she will don at
showtime, along with her wings weighed down by 20,000 crystals of their own and
1,200 battery-powered LED lights. The battery pack she will lug weighs a
reported 19 pounds.

Hunt’s last meal before hitting the makeup chair was eggs.
Her first after the show concludes? “Pizza. It will be pizza after the
show. I’m very excited,” she smiled. “Pizza is one of my favorite
foods. Pizza and pasta.”

Hunt said she was a tad nervous about managing her heavy
outfit, the closing look of the show.

“I did practice … with a trainer. I wore a weighted
vest and walked back and forth in high heels,” she said.

Lima, marking her 16th year as an angel, said the nerves
never really go away.

“It’s a little bit tough after so many years because
the girls are so beautiful and I have to keep up with them,” laughed the
34-year-old mother of two young kids. “I work out as much as I can, and
you know, I feel great … I feel wonderful in my skin.”