Meeting with Candice Swanepoel and Timothée Chalamet: behind the scenes of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show

From chatting with Angels to swapping makeup tips with reality TV stars to celebrity spotting in the front row, there was plenty to soak up.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — It’s Sunday night and I’m in a packed room with Timothée Chalamet, Nicole Kidman and Kris Jenner, cheering on Kylie Jenner as she models a $50 million bra. This can only mean one thing: the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back, baby. While the models – sorry, Angels – at last night’s show made things look easy, in reality the event was a 12-hour whirlwind that began (for me, at least) with a 5:30 a.m. alarm for a 7 a.m. backstage call, followed by a stretch on the star-studded pink carpet and, finally, a dazzling runway show with lots of wings, lots of glitter and lots of skin. Here’s what I saw behind the scenes.

In the presence of literal angels

Even though the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, an annual spectacle featuring top models and A-list musicians parading in lingerie, wouldn’t begin until later in the afternoon, I was at Sony Pictures Studios at 7 a.m. chatting with this year’s A-list while they had their hair and makeup done. The soundstage was filled with more than 60 models, crowds of designers and influencers vying for each model’s attention — and a team of coordinators doing their best to guide us through the crowded, chaotic space.

It takes a village to prepare a runway model. Whether it was a hairstylist working on her blowout or a makeup artist prepping her skin, each model had a team to do her makeup. All the girls wore the brand’s famous pink and white striped dresses, each personalized with their name embroidered in black cursive script. I’ve seen models like Alex Consani, Paloma Elsesser, and Irina Shayk scroll through their phones. Some ladies politely declined to speak to reporters until they had finished putting on their makeup. (I understand!)

But Christina Nadin, a freshman, was ready to talk. Aside from the fact that this is Nadin’s first time participating in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, she is also the second Filipina to do so. Nadin worked for his debut.

“I took walking classes with a Filipino coach in the Philippines on Zoom. He’s like a walker from the Miss Universe pageant,” she told me. (Note: There is a 15-hour time difference between Manila and Los Angeles.)

Liu Wen, for her part, marked her 10th appearance at the show. His status as a Victoria’s Secret veteran didn’t faze him. “I’m still myself, so I’m very grateful to be here,” Wen told me. “When you want to be someone, an angel, you just have to be ready for it. (Work) hard, love your job and appreciate what you have.”

Just minutes before I left the soundstage, a true miracle happened: OG Angel Candice Swanepoel — someone I constantly reblogged on Tumblr during my college fangirl years — agreed to chat.

Swanepoel was putting on a mask and apologizing for looking “scary” (never!) when we started talking. Soon after, we bonded over our shared love of “sad girl” music.

“I go through moods,” Swanepoel told me. When she wants to relax, she puts on Dermot Kennedy or Bon Iver – “kind of like indie music for sad girls”. But “when I need beast mode, I go for teen angst like Prodigy, The Blaze,” she added. “And if I need to feel sexy, it’ll be like Rihanna, Tove Lo.” (A particular favorite: “Speaking Body” by Tove Lo.)

The pink carpet was a ‘Love Island’ fan’s dream

Four hours, a short nap and a half hour Grey’s Anatomy episode later, I returned for the Victoria’s Secret pink carpet. Fans were gathered behind the catwalk in a designated section, where they screamed, cried and took a bunch of photos of their favorite stars. Megan Thee Stallion, who performed during the show, was one of the first to walk the carpet — and I can honestly say there was an audible gasp around me when she appeared, wearing a tight pink sequined dress.

Another notable arrival: Lisa Rinna, who was there to support her daughter, model Amelia Gray, wore an extravagant Elias Matso x Erik Charlotte corseted dress. But it was his enormous feathered helmet – which apparently punched an influencer in the face – this got everyone talking.

While rumors that Nicole Kidman – who attended the show – might walk the pink carpet proved to be unfounded, I got the next best thing: a crowd of love island the girls arrived just before the carpet stopped. Trinity Tatum, Aniya Harvey, Kayda Bosse and Melanie Moreno – affectionately known as the Core Four of Season 8 – came strutting down the aisle one by one.

When Moreno, my favorite islander, approached my section of the pink carpet, I jumped at the chance to talk to him. We both love makeup, so I consulted her on how to achieve the perfect smoky eye.

“You have to find a very pigmented black and a good black eyeliner,” Moreno told me, adding that we need to bring back the smoky eyes. We moved on to talking about a product that I know she loves: blush. “Come to my house, you’ll see how many blushes I have. I find new blushes every day.”

Fan-girl of pop stars too

I rushed from the pink carpet to my seat just in time for the lights to dim and the curtains to close.

The Hadids were in the house. Bella Hadid opened the show with the most ethereal floral wings before floating down the runway in a sheer white mini dress coded Pleats Please with matching wings. Big sister Gigi’s glittery metallic wings sparkled with every step. But it was seeing its enormous white wings adorned with crystals up close that left me speechless.

It was also such a joy to see mega-artists fan-girling too. After finishing their performances, Tate McRae and Megan Thee Stallion stood together offstage, reacting to the show, just like the rest of us.

Timothée Chalamet and Dylan Sprouse were in “woman-man” mode

Everyone around me burst into joy as Barbara Palvin, who is six weeks away from her due date, strutted down the runway with the biggest smile on her face. Her husband, actor Dylan Sprouse, was the ultimate fashion man, and the whole room was struck by his great show of support. The crowd cheered even louder when we saw how excited Sprouse was to see his wife in action.

At one point during the show, the woman next to me took out her phone and zoomed in really close to part of the front row right in front of us. I spotted Law Roach and Kris Jenner, but I wasn’t sure who the guy with the sunglasses and wavy brown hair sitting next to her was. Until I realized: it was Timothée Chalamet. But why, I wondered, was Chalamet there? Enter: Kylie Jenner.

When Jenner — who, if it’s your first day on planet Earth, is Chalamet’s longtime girlfriend — appeared at the end of the runway, the crowd gasped before applauding. Not only did we not expect to see Jenner at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, but we also didn’t expect her to wear the $50 million fancy bra. Jenner looked like she was having the time of her life in her diamond-encrusted bra — sorry, the haters – and you know what? That made two of us.