A conversation needs to be had about the thigh-high boot parade that flooded this runway.
Boots first, Balmain later. The shoe collection this year—which, by the way, took six months to design, per designer Brian Atwood—felt like a bigger deal than the lingerie. From the distressed denim wonder boots on Lily Aldridge, to the sleek yellow-green PINK thigh-highs on Alanna Arrington, to the sexy lace-up lady assassin-style killers on Adriana Lima, the Angels took the boot trend to an entirely new height—pun intended. (If I start seeing 5-inch heel boots at DSW, Angels, I blame you. Not everyone has wings to break the fall when they trip on a pavement crack.)
Victoria’s Secret took some big ideas from current street style trends—and not just in the shoe department. It was particularly evident in the Victoria’s Secret PINK brigade that came dancing down the runway in their “millennial” garb. I.e. one floor length puffer jacket, worn by first-time Angel Xiao Wen Ju, one lace-up cropped sweatshirt on Zuri Tibby, and more than a few above-the-waist panties. Yeah, don’t think we missed that 80s style swimsuit bottom on Grace Elizabeth. The metallic coat hides nothing!
But perhaps the show’s biggest moment was its opening number, when the brand’s first collaboration with a named designer marched down the runway in Shanghai like a Balmain army draped in embellished couture pieces over street-style lingerie to the beat of Harry Style’s well-paired rock number, “Kiwi.” I would sell my left kidney for just one of those Balmain jackets.
I quite literally had to cap myself at 10 this year, or the entire show would have been here. Alas, I give you my begrudgingly chosen top ten:
1. Lais Ribeiro in the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra from the “Goddesses” collection
2. Karlie Kloss in Victoria’s Secret X Balmain “Punk Angel” collection
3. Bella Hadid in Victoria’s Secret “Goddesses” collection
4. Lily Aldridge in Victoria’s Secret X Balmain “Punk Angel” collection
5. Jourdana Phillips in Victoria’s Secret “Goddesses” collection
6. Jasmine Tookes in Victoria’s Secret X Balmain “Punk Angel” collection
7. Alanna Arrington in Victoria’s Secret PINK “Millennial Nation” collection
8. Adriana Lima in Victoria’s Secret “Nomadic Adventure” collection
9. Martha Hunt and Stella Maxwell in Victoria’s Secret X Balmain “Punk Angel” collection
10. Adriana Lima in Victoria’s Secret X Balmain “Punk Angel” collection