The BodysuitThe WingsStrijd's Reaction to the Look
On Thursday, November 8, a host of winged, bedazzled, and lingerie-clad angels will take the runway at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Dutch model Romee Strijd will be walking for her fifth time, this year wearing a crystal-covered Swarovski bodysuit and handmade 3D star wings for the Celestial Angel section of the show.
The 23-year-old is the 12th model to wear a Swarovski look (there's one every year at the show) and shared with us the exact moment she received this happy news. "My agent called me when I was having dinner with my family back in Holland, so I stepped away for a second to pick up the phone. I came back with a huge smile on my face and told my family the news, I couldn’t keep it a secret for even a minute," she reveals.
"To be chosen to wear one of the most sparkling looks in the show is amazing. It’s such an honor and it means a lot to me," says Strijd, who made her VS runway debut in 2014 and became an official Victoria's Secret Angel in 2015.
The Bodysuit
The bodysuit contains 70,o00 Swarovski crystals, which were placed to look like a star-strewn night sky. The long-sleeved one-piece also features a constellation of Swarovski crystals that runs diagonally from neck to hip, creating "a celestial stardust effect." A creation of this magnitude, of course, required a lot of time and work: It took over 150 hours to apply the Swarovski crystals to the bodysuit.
'Barak Stribling, who created the bodysuit.
Meanwhile, the seven-pointed silver star created by Marian Hose breaks the traditional mold of feathery wings. The circular cutouts grow smaller as they reach the outer points, creating a radiating effect. Chessboard crystals were then placed inside each of the circles, giving more dimension and depth to the wing. It took a team of experts 150 hours to apply over 55,000 Swarovski crystals and the wing itself weighs 20 pounds.
"I couldn’t believe how sparkly and shiny the wings were, it’s definitely the heaviest wings I’ve carried so far too, but it's all worth it," she says.
The total weight of the Swarovski outfit is 27 pounds, but that doesn't seem to worry Strijd who wears it with confidence and enthusiasm. The model, after all, also went through countless fittings to make sure the bodysuit and star accessory were actually wearable ahead of her big runway moment.
'The complete bodysuit contains more than 125,000 Swarovski crystals.'
Strijd will be one of many wearing incredible looks on Thursday night (fellow VS model Elsa Hosk will debut the $1 million dollar fantasy bra), but Strijd's outfit will be the brightest of them all—literally. When we asked her how she will own the moment on the runway, she replies, "I’m just going to enjoy the moment and of course shine. I will probably not be able to stop smiling."
