Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Isn't Just Sexy Anymore. It's Actually Fashionable.

The annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which will air on CBS on December 1st, has gone beyond simply sexy. This year, it's moved far from a cheesy Vegas Revue or a slutty Ziegfeld Follies. Along with showcasing the usual; lace g-strings, merry widows, satin teddies, push up bras and lots of lovely skin, the show is fast becoming an true fashion show. All without losing its sex appeal.

This year's styling deserves kudos for breaking away from more traditional angel wings as props, replacing them with far more edgy and imaginative versions. Wings made of balloons, wire, fabric, plexiglass and more are combined with the lingerie, making it feel as though we're at Fashion Week watching a futuristic and irreverent fashion designer instead of just the leggy nubile nymphs most husbands ogle while on the john.

The set designs and lighting are more akin to a theater production than a lingerie show:




The show is bound to widen its audience appeal by treating the runway, sets and styling like it's a JCDC or Gilles Deacon show instead of just voyeurism for a lascivious audience. But don't fret, there's still plenty of cleavage, thigh-high boots and butt cheek-baring couture for those of you who want it.

The unusual styling:











The host, supermodel Heidi Klum:


The show is hosted by the incredibly stunning Heidi Klum, who I am now convinced is actually an alien being, haven given birth to four children (the most recent just 6 weeks prior to hosting this show!!) only to have her rockin' bod snap right back into shape without so much as a stretch mark.



Since her VS catwalk debut in 1997, Heidi has been a showstopper—wearing the tallest wings ever in 2003 and singing a duet with her husband Seal in 2007.

The Supermodels
Ths year's supermodel line-up, straight from your mail order catalog: Adrian Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Marisa Miller, Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes and Miranda Kerr.




The Entertainment
In addition to the far out costuming, there was plenty of wild set decor and entertainment. Black Eyed Peas performed and Fergie, looking just as sexy as the supermodels, rocked the house:




The $3 million 2009 Diamond Harlequin Fantasy Bra:


Each year, they have a 'fantasy bra' made with real diamonds and gemstones. This year, it's the 2009 Harlequin Fantasy Bra set with over 2,350 brilliant cut white, champagne and cognac colored diamonds accented with a rare 16 carat heart-shaped cognac diamond pendant. Total carat weight =150. Price = $3 million:



More from the show:











all images courtesy of Getty and Victoria's Secret

You can see backstage photos, learn about the Miami model search, see the girls in Times Square and much more at the Victoria's Secret All Access website.
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show will air on CBS, December 1st.

The Super Sexy Body Painting of Joanne Gair

It dawned on me that I really couldn't mention the talented work of Joanne Gair in the context of a post about body painting without showing you some of her amazing work, so now I've decided to do just that.

Joanne's work is especially sexy in addition to being impressively detailed. She's done the body painting on many famous models for issues of Sports Illustrated over the years, including painted on swimsuits and sports jerseys.

Many a red-blooded male will be very happy I chose to share these with you, as you will soon see.

Painted on Swimsuits for Sports Illustrated:

SI 2009
Brooklyn and Julie:

Irina and Jessica:


SI 2008:
Jessica:

Quiana:

Tori:

Sarah O'Hare and Marisa Miller:


SI Pre-2008:

Rachel Hunter and Heidi Klum:

Yamilla:

Rebecca Romijn and Noemie:

Petra:


Painted on sports jerseys:



Painted on Rock Concert Tees:



Heidi Klum Painted on Pin-Up Series:



and a few more of her amazing images from various projects and editorials:




Joanne Gair :: The Art of Illusion (from her site):

Joanne Gair is an artist and image maker who has emerged as the premiere make-up artist/body painter in the world. Originally from New Zealand, Gair had a keen interest in art photography and exploring different mediums, which is what eventually led her down the path as an illusionist and to the United States.

As a make-up artist and body painter, Gair has worked worldwide with the top photographers, directors, super models and celebrities. Her work spans all media, with many memorable editorial covers and layouts, fashion campaigns, advertising, music videos, commercials and motion pictures to her credit.

Gair’s extensive work with editorial (Vogue, W, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Black Book, Harper's Bazaar), fashion campaigns (Donna Karan, Versace, Victoria’s Secret, Guess, bebe) and cosmetic companies (L’Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon, Oil of Olay, Rimmel), has established her as a fixture in the Fashion Industry. Her editorial work spilled over to a two year stint as beauty editor for New York based Black Book magazine.

Almost everyone has seen the August 1992 issue of Vanity Fair, featuring Demi Moore wearing nothing but a suit of body paint. This cover earned Gair worldwide recognition and put her at the pinnacle of the body art genre. The brilliantly painted swimsuits in the 1999 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, featured a twelve page layout using six models as the canvases for Gair’s art. The bathing suits (replicas of original designs) exemplify Gair’s close attention to detail and sense of realism that have made her the master of the art of illusion. Her work has now become a yearly fixture in the SI Swimsuit Issue.



Gair’s first book Paint A’ Licious was released in October of 2005 and featured over 40 new photographed and body painted images. Her second book Body Painting Masterpieces By Joanne Gair, a retrospective of her career to date, was published in 2006. Sports Illustrated released a collection of Gair's body painted swimsuits in the 2007 book In The Paint - The Art of Joanne Gair.

Joanne Gair continues to drive herself to explore and experiment in her work, in an effort to bring something new to a project every time. In an industry besieged by trend followers, Gair has established herself as the trendsetter.

Buy books by Joanne Gair

Joanne Gair website