Five Victoria’s Secret Angels to know

SINGAPORE — Since Victoria’s Secret (VS) launched its Angels as part of a lingerie line in 1997, with the modelling industry’s biggest names such as Helena Christensen, Stephanie Seymour and Tyra Banks, the brand has made becoming an Angel one of the industry’s most desired gigs. Other high-profile VS Angels include Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum, Miranda Kerr and Karlie Kloss.

VS will once again hold its highly anticipated fashion show on Dec 5, with Lady Gaga as the headlining act. And while there are many models who will be walking the runway that day, do you know only a select few get bestowed Angel status?

Here are five other VS Angels who have made their careers strutting for the lingerie giant:

1. Adriana Lima

The longest-serving VS Angel, the 35-year-old Brazilian has been an Angel for 16 years. She is also the first and only VS Angel to get her own wax figure, at Madame Tussauds New York last year. In other VS-related buzz, she made news and garnered criticism when she returned to open the VS fashion show in 2012 less than two months after giving birth to her second child.

2. Alessandra Ambrosio

Brazilian Alessandra Ambrosio is another familiar face on the VS runways. She was made an Angel in 2004, and in 2011 she donned the heaviest wings ever made, a jewel-encrusted set weighing 27kg, while pregnant with her second child. She famously remarked that being a VS Angel means working out like an athlete, and “What better motivation to get into shape than to be wearing a million-dollar bra?”

3. Taylor Hill

The youngest VS Angel, who joined the club last year when she was just 19, Taylor Hill was discovered when she was age 14, in a barn by a photographer. She is one of the most in-demand names at the moment, and was recently announced as a face of Lancome. Her equally gorgeous siblings, brother Chase and sister Mackinley, have also been signed by famed agency IMG. Talk about good genes.

4. Lily Aldridge

Lily Aldridge oozed cool cred even before she became a VS Angel in 2010. Her extended family is involved in the modelling and fashion industries, and she met her husband, Kings of Leon’s frontman Caleb Followill, at Coachella 2007. She even popped up in the band’s music video for Use Somebody. Taylor Swift fans will also recognise her as a close pal of the singer, who makes regular cameos on Swift’s Instagram and appeared in her Bad Blood MTV.

5. Tyra Banks

Before Banks was telling everyone to “smize” (smile with their eyes) on America’s Next Top Model, she was one of the original VS Angels and in the squad from 1997 to 2005. She famously made the news in 2014 when it was rumoured that she was rejected for a VS television special. We guess these Angels don’t last forever. SERENE LIM