Victoria's Secret: The Tour '23 (2023) Movie Script

[FAST STRING MUSIC]
[GIGI] Thirty seconds to show.
All models on the runway.
[BACKSTAGE CHATTER]
Thirty seconds to show.
All models on the runway.
Thirty seconds to the show.
All models to the runway.
[CHUCKLES] Remember that guy?
The voice? That backstage voice?
Why do they all sound like that?
[MAN'S VOICE] We are ready to go.
- [CAMERA FLASHBULBS]
- [CHEERING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[GIGI] My name is Gigi Hadid,
and I have a confession to make.
I'm sleeping on the job.
J ust kidding. I'm the new
[ELONGATED, ECHOING SHOUT]
voice!
Okay, that's all I got.
Sorry. I just had to try that.
Anyways, I know what you're thinking.
"What the fuck?
Where are the models in lingerie?
Show me the girls in angel wings."
Then again, these arches...
do have sick curves.
It's been five long
and lingerie-less years
since my last
Victoria's Secret show, folks,
but I'm back, baby,
and more powerful than ever.
Right now, I'm at a house in Barcelona
that hosts something
kind of like a festival.
It's nothing like a festival.
[GIGI] Okay, Adut, you figure out
what we should call it, and until then,
I'm going with festival.
We'll travel all over the world
to meet 20 incredible artists
as we reimagine what
a Victoria's Secret runway looks like.
Okay, actually, stop. Stop. Cut!
- [RECORD SCRATCH]
- [GIGI] Cool. Perfect.
Hold right there.
So, here's the sitch.
We're going to four cities.
Here's one.
In each city, we feature five artists.
One is a fashion designer.
She'll create a collection.
Then we have three more artists,
ranging from musicians
to painters to poets.
You name it.
And finally, a filmmaker,
whose role is to, you've guessed it,
make the film you're watching.
Someone had to film it, right?
Roll the tape.
So, there you have it.
Welcome to...
The Tour.
Oh, and one last thing.
This house will become a portal
into far-flung places.
Don't believe me?
Watch this.
Boom. Lagos.
I told you, I'm [WHISPERS] the voice.
In Lagos, we'll introduce you to Bubu,
Ashley,
Eloghosa,
Wavy.
And Korty.
[KORTY] In Lagos,
you need to have some form of tenacity,
audacity, and sometimes, madness.
My name is Korty, K-O-R-T-Y.
I'm a filmmaker, but I'm also here
as your guide into the lives
of some really interesting women
in Lagos, Nigeria. [CLAPS]
Bonjour.
[BUBU] Would I describe myself
as a fashion designer? No.
I think fashion designer
is a bit too restricted.
[LOOM CLICKING]
I'm an artist.
I'm a crafter.
[SPEAKING FRENCH] It's beautiful, huh?
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
I sourced all the looks
for this collection
from all around different parts
of the African continent.
Working with different communities
and artisans and craftsmen.
[WOOD CLACKING]
I'm in the pride of Africa.
This is Nairobi, Kenya.
[BUBU] For me, it's a research
in understanding myself,
my culture, my people.
You have a nail,
so that you just do like this,
like this, you count.
All three go together.
I think that's better.
This is Shosho's amazing studio.
She's actually the most important person
that's working with textiles
in the whole of Kenya.
And I always work with her
whenever I'm in Kenya.
- Yeah.
- [LAUGHS]
- She's my grandchild.
- [LAUGHS]
[BUBU] Each of my pieces represents
an Africanism through the different places
that I create within.
I want to be connecting
with these people that create with me.
The accumulation of all of us
comes back to one supreme energy.
Fashion is deep.
- Yeah.
- Very deep.
- Well done.
- Craft is deep.
- Darling, crafts.
- Okay, crafts, crafts.
'Cause in Lagos,
fashion is crafts. [LAUGHS]
[FUNKY MUSIC]
[BUBU] The act of fashioning
is very related to magic.
We create glass out of sand.
It's the act of fashioning.
Create plastic from crude oil.
That's fashioning.
All the materials that I've worked with.
Raffia, glass, silk.
Cotton, bronze, brass.
I'm obsessed with how all these
can be recreated or re-innovated
through the act of interweaving.
- [TRANQUIL MUSIC]
- Yeah, can you turn to the light?
I'm leaving my mark on the studio.
Santi!
Thank you! Thank you!
[WAVES CRASHING]
[DRUMBEAT]
[GENERAL CHATTER]
[MUSIC AND REVELRY FADES]
[BUBU] For this collection,
we delved into ten to 12 looks
about the creation of the feminine divine.
Merging all these worlds
of Yoruba mythology
and Edo mythology.
And I wanted each of these women
to embody these materials
and see themselves as gods or goddesses.
For Yemoja, which is, like, mother of all,
I chose to represent
with brass and bronze.
[KORTY] We are headed...
to find some brass.
Bubu has less than 24 hours
to finish everything
she's here in Kenya to do.
She's working on a very tight deadline.
Okay, so where is everything
that you were supposed to be bringing?
Where's the list of things
I was supposed to do?
- They're here. I have to start working.
- But what has been done?
I will have to make them now.
Uh, sorry. I need to...
I need to understand something.
Nothing on the list
that I've given to you has been done.
- [NELSON] No.
- Oh, my God, this is so crazy.
[NELSON] No, no, no, no, no.
Like she said, no purchase is easy.
You're gonna have your ups and downs,
and this is a down right now.
Kay, let's just have contingents, please.
[FRENETIC MUSIC]
[BUBU] That look
is the most difficult piece
I've ever embarked on.
We do five, seven, nine, eleven.
Let... So that's 300 in total.
So if they've done 200 pieces, and...
[MAN] The back will be a bit longer...
[BUBU] Yeah, it's 110, 111.
It's such a great energy in here.
Hi, Bubu.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[NAOMI]
The first rule of this planet is...
do not look a star in the eye.
If you still want to live.
[TRUMPETS BLARING]
We're walking on madness.
Are you aware?
Dance into the light
until your spirit comes shivering.
Until your eyes go boom.
Something true.
A god is a god.
Is a god.
Is a door.
This beast is a beast is a beast.
Now unleashed.
Let me tell you a story.
Once, an angel landed in my head.
And said,
"Fear not.
Fear not.
Fear not."
It almost changed me.
But I'm wilder than that.
Darker than that.
This could be a Big Bang.
You see, depending on how you look at it,
this could be a dream.
This is where it seems to begin.
[HORN AND DRUM MUSIC CRESCENDOS]
I wear a cut of holy
against my throat.
Specks of power
glow glossy on my eyelids.
I turn into a river of deep courage.
Into a revolution of metal and feathers.
When I appear in skin...
[HORNS FADE, PERCUSSIVE BEAT CONTINUES]
they buck.
When I become in a strut, they fall.
[HORNS BLARE]
You told me that
when I was way, way, way, way smaller.
I'm keeping it forever,
like everything else out of your mouth.
["FRIKITONA" BY PLAN B PLAYS]
I make things because I was made.
We make worlds because ours can fade.
[GLASS SHATTERING]
They keep their glow of an eye on me.
[HORNS BLARE]
Throw a dare at what wants to be me.
Turn my hips into madness.
The opposite of mercy.
Twin, indescribable hills.
And you know how it goes
more than anyone.
You do. You do.
I come to you, striking.
The music runs and does its dance.
They pour their lights on me
as I build the trance,
the ground speeds out to meet the stars.
How does it go again?
[MUSIC FADES AWAY]
Hi, Korty.
Do you consider yourself a goddess?
A goddess? Oh, my God,
I'm not that conceited.
- Sorry.
- [LAUGHING] I don't know.
I mean, I'm just the spirit here.
Just here chilling.
No, actually.
I had a bit of a reaction
to the word, like, "goddess."
I think of myself as a god.
- So do you think you're a goddess?
- Yes, I think.
[LAUGHS]
I think I'm a goddess.
- Do you think you're a goddess?
- Yes, in my own right.
I guess, let me put it this way.
I feel like we're all extensions
of what we've been created from.
It's being able to tap into,
you know, your higher self.
My name is Wavy the Creator,
and I am an all-around creative.
I feel like art
is basically the center of my world.
I'm trying to make
a very powerful, empowering song
about a woman,
that can inspire people, you know?
And that can be relatable.
So in the talking bit.
Yeah, that's a bounce, right?
Yo, Higo, please let me record the bounce
for this talking bit
right here real quick.
As young as a can remember,
I had a very strong, like, desire
to want to create things out of nothing.
[KORTY] Where'd you grow up.
[WAVY] I grew up partly here in Lagos
and in Kansas City, Missouri as well.
Coming from Lagos,
I felt like
not a lot of people understood me.
I just felt like an alien.
[KORTY] Do you still feel like an alien?
[WAVY] Yeah, sometimes.
Especially when I came to Lagos.
I was supposed to be coming back home.
But it felt like I was in a foreign land.
Where there'd been a lot
of misconceptions about who I am.
Everywhere I went to, it's just like
I either got stares or questions.
But I embraced it.
Because it gave me a spotlight.
[WARPING SOUNDS]
[SMOOTH R&B KEYBOARD]
Hey
Higo
Give me my heartbeat on the low
You make the time stop when you go
And when the temperature get cold
You're like hot stones on the stove
Give me my heartbeat on the low
You make the time stop when you go
And when the temperature get low
You're like hot stones on the stove
You're walking with a star
Yeah, you are
Yes
You're walking like a star
Yeah, you are
Can't get this feeling in my body
You got me feelin' like I want it
Hey, the way she walks
She lookin' like star
Don't compare
You can never be her...
[WOMAN]
My name is Eloghosa Osunde.
I wrote a novel called Vagabonds.
Vagabonds is a book
that's very interested
in thinking about God,
life, love, queerness, spirituality,
and so all of those things come together.
The Nigerian constitution, as is,
refers to anyone who's queer
or who gender bends as a vagabond.
Like that's actually written into the law.
And that made me very angry.
What has happened
with the word "vagabond" since then
is what happened
with the word "queer" for instance.
Queer used to be a slur.
And the way you take that and say,
"Okay, that's my name." Then what?
And so now you see people
like with vagabond tattoos.
You know, I know what they say
to us.
I know what they say to women.
I know what they say to queer people.
But I've also learned
that we can say something back.
[MUSIC BOOMING OUTSIDE]
It is 12 a.m. in Lagos, Nigeria.
And we're here to party.
We're waiting for Ashley Okoli.
Superstar Ashley Okoli.
All kinds of people from all over the city
come here to be themselves.
Like, it's like your heartbeat.
[LAUGHS]
Do you feel like there's
a lot of people in Nigeria
who have to, like, hide
who they really are?
[ASHLEY] Oh, yeah. A lot. Like 50%.
Ninety percent.
[KORTY] Then it makes sense
that you inspire a lot of people.
[ASHLEY] Yeah, I feel from people
of different ages, sizes,
race, everything...
They talk about how they wish
they were as free as I am.
Well, it's never too late,
and there's nothing as original
as knowing yourself.
[SMOOTH HIP HOP MUSIC]
What do you identify as?
Ashley Okoli.
I'm a model, stylist,
creative director, all-around artist.
In general, bad bitch.
[ENGINE RUMBLES]
I'm about to like really perform
something you've probably never seen.
[WOMAN] It's-It's giving half-assed.
[MURMURED CONVERSATION]
[ASHLEY] We are going back to my tribe.
My culture, Igbo.
You know?
Okay.
[SINGING TRADITIONAL SONG]
Not the song.
- Everything you've said...
- [ASHLEY] Yeah.
...if you could define it
in one word, what would it be?
It would be...
Label me. I dare you.
[CHIMES RINGING]
["BUZZIN" BY DUA SALEH PLAYING]
- [KORTY] You are very true to yourself.
- [ASHLEY] I am.
- [KORTY] I respect it.
- [ASHLEY] Thank you.
[LAUGHS]
[TECHNO BEAT DROPS]
[ASHLEY]
Who else? [CHUCKLES]
[MUSIC FADES, CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[BRIGHT GUITAR MUSIC]
[GIGI] I've missed you guys.
Wait... where's my walkie?
[LAUGHING] I wish I could have
a walkie sound.
Um, could you...
could you put one in for me?
Yeah, they gave me a walkie.
[WALKIE BEEPS]
Anyone have eyes on Doja?
[SMOOTH GUITAR INTRO]
Baby, if you like it
Just reach out and pet it
This one doesn't bite
It doesn't get aggressive
Show you how to touch it
Hold it like it's precious
It don't need your lovin'
It just needs attention
Love me
It needs, it seeks affection
(SO SWEET)
Hungry, it fiends attention
(HUNGRY)
It needs, it seeks affection
(BABY)
Hungry, it feeds
Yeah, look at me, look at me
You lookin'?
My taste good
But I just had to redirect my cookin'
I coulda been an opener
I redirect the bookin'
I read it, all the comments
Sayin', "D, I'm really shooketh"
D, you need to see a therapist
Is you lookin'?
Yes, the one I got
They really are the best
Now I feel like I can see
You bitches is depressed
I am not afraid
To finally say shit with my chest
Lost a little weight
But I ain't never lost the tushy
Lookin' good
But now my bald head match my...
Lookin' good
But now they all sayin' that I'm ugly
Well, boohoo, my nigga
I ain't sad you won't fuck me
I'm sad that you really thought
Yo ass was above me
Your lucky 'cause I just
Paid your bill with a reply
I just made your money pile knee high
I just made your stats peak
Now you got a blue check
Now you can afford
To go and reinstall a new wig
Now you can afford to not be lousy
Go and do shit
Talkin' shit about me
I can easily disprove it
It's stupid, you follow me
But you don't really care
About the music
Baby, if you like it
Just reach out and pet it
This one doesn't bite
It doesn't get aggressive
Show you how to touch it
Hold it like it's precious
It don't need your lovin'
It just needs attention
(LOVE ME)
It needs, it seeks affection
(SO SWEET)
Hungry, it fiends attention
(HUNGRY)
It needs, it seeks affection
(BABY)
Hungry, it feeds
Look at me, look at me, I'm naked
Vulnerability earned me a lot of bacon
I put a thong all in my ass
And taught you how to shake it
I paid all my respect
To those who taught me how to make it
And now I reap the benefits
With no confrontation
Y'all fall into beef
But that's another conversation
I'm sorry, but we all find it
Really entertaining
' Cause we all wanna see them slip
And fall right on their faces
And we all wanna be the one
To see the devastation
Not be in it
But ain't the bad press good?
The disrespect's real
How this Patek look?
Pull out the checkbook
Now why your neck crook?
I never learn to superstar
From a textbook
Talkin' 'bout, "She fallin' off
Why she get booked?"
Man, I been humble
I'm tired of all the deprecation
Just let me flex, bruh
Just let me pop shit
("WHY SHE THINK SHE NICKI M?
SHE THINK SHE HOT SHIT")
I never gave a F
Go stir the pot, bitch
I got y'all head all in the dirt
Just like a ostrich
Of course, you bitches comparin' Doja
To who the hottest
Baby, if you like it
Just reach out and pet it
This one doesn't bite
It doesn't get aggressive
Show you how to touch it
Hold it like it's precious
It don't need your lovin'
It just needs attention
Love me
It needs, it seeks affection
(SO SWEET)
Hungry, it fiends attention
(HUNGRY)
It needs, it seeks affection
(BABY)
Hungry, it feeds
- [WOMAN] Okay, cue...
- [CHEERS, APPLAUSE]
[GIGI, SINGING]
That was Doja
Ooh, I'm gonna sing for Doja
[LAUGHS]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC]
All right, my angels.
Next, we travel to Bogot.
We'll introduce you to Goyo,
Lorena,
Melissa,
Piscis,
and Cristina.
[WHOOSHING SOUND]
[HORNS HONKING]
[MELLOW SYNTH MUSIC]
[IN SPANISH] I'm Melissa.
Melissa Valdez, I'm from Medelln.
I'm 23.
I'm a designer.
I've just finished college.
Hi, I'm Piscis.
Artist and activist from Bogot, Colombia.
I communicate with my body
through movement.
I've always though movement is majestic.
Okay, my name is Gloria,
people call me Goyo.
I'm an artist.
I started with ChocQuibTown.
I will be at
Billboard's Women in Music now
and I'm the first Afro-Latin woman
receiving recognition
for being an agent of change.
It's complex,
when you have had to open doors
and be a pioneer of certain things,
and that's part of my story.
Since I went solo, I am in a process
of recognizing who Goyo is.
My name is Cristina Sanchez Salamanca.
I'm a director.
Lorena told me that she was
painting five women around a table.
So I thought it was exciting
to bring that painting to life.
[CITY SOUNDSCAPE]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
Okay, I am Lorena,
from Barranquilla, a painter.
I've lived in Bogot for 13 years.
All my paintings are related
to the Colombian Caribbean coast.
I think it's a feeling.
The sun is above,
literally above your head.
It's so hot, your brain starts to melt.
It's like...
sweat and this need to touch
and feel the other,
The Caribbean is affection.
I think of them talking
and gossiping amongst themselves.
They appear to be sharing a secret...
We're the subject of the secret.
[BACKGROUND CHATTER]
I don't like to be looked at.
Now you know what it feels like for us!
[LAUGHTER]
I'll tell you about me.
I want to start by saying
that I was born in Bogot.
And I love Bogot.
I love this city.
I love its chaos.
It takes time to
learn how to live
in this city.
I think it's the same as our bodies.
It takes some time to feel
at home in one's body,
to understand
and to be at peace with it.
I am like a river,
I let myself flow,
so that's how
I communicate with my body.
I think our processes,
our bodies, our personalities
are like the weather in Bogot:
always changing, always evolving.
- Yes, totally.
- Literally.
- They are everchanging.
- Totally.
- It's omnipresent.
- Yes.
[THUNDER, RAIN]
[PISCIS]
Finding those different paths
or ways of getting along
with your body is beautiful.
I love the word transit.
We turn now to Colombia,
where anti-government protestors
filled the streets
of a number of cities Tuesday
on Colombia's independence day.
The country's defense minister had claimed
violence was expected at the protest
and put Bogot on heightened alert.
[PISCIS IN SPANISH]
I don't know how to express anger
other than through dance, or art.
[DANCE MUSIC]
[SHOUTS, CHEERS]
On that day, one of my partners
had the idea of using caution tape
to make a top.
And a woman appeared,
I say she was an angel.
Because this woman
appeared and told me,
"Why don't you dance here?"
We went through
some stairs and the people
and we reached that place
where the video was shot.
We are here, we exist,
and we are part of society.
We fight for our society.
We do it for ourselves,
but we also do it for you.
For your children, for your family,
for your job.
That moment was truly... I feel that,
up until now, it was
the best moment of my life
on a performance level because
experiencing that,
I could physically see
how dance, movement, love, and need
can transform a hostile environment.
[EXCITING MUSIC]
[MELISSA] It was not until one or two
years ago that I started thinking about
how scars and skin features
tell the stories of our lives.
It started when I saw someone
with a scar on the street and I said,
"Why not?"
They were showing their scars,
when you usually want
to conceal them instead.
So, after seeing their scars,
that day, I looked in the mirror
and looked at my own scars,
like my stretch marks
or other marks on my body
gained through the years.
Take the picture soon because...
- I love how it looks...
- The other side.
It all began with a crochet sample
made by my mom.
Were always at home,
my mom and I, making stuff.
We'd find sequins and thought
about what to do with them.
I've always worked with my mother.
It's like, I am the brains
of the operation
and she'll figure out
a way to bring it to life.
Very recently, my mother
had neck surgery
I think we started sewing one
or two weeks after that,
I told her, "You don't have to sew,"
but she was like, "I got this."
I think she knows
what her scars mean to me
because they turned
our lives upside down.
She doesn't seem to see it
that way, but it tells a story
of how on day,
you can be doing fine,
and the next, they find
18 tumors inside of you.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
As far as design techniques,
I've used variations of crochet,
We made crochet samples
in plastic, in chain, in beads
so we have to make the thread,
meters and meters of thread
and do the threading with the beads
So all of the eleven looks
are completely handmade.
It's not just a fabric,
but everything behind it.
Every person
that's behind that single piece.
From the person
who makes the material
to the person who sews it
and the person who models it.
There's a whole chain
behind a dress,
so to speak,
but it's a beautiful chain.
I think the toughest part
has been fighting against time.
was not like that before.
It's not... I mean, if, Melissa,
you want to change it, that's okay,
but next week
is when we're sending the collection.
And because we did that dress
two times, right, there's no time.
So, we have to ship on Wednesday.
Have to, have to, have to.
- We need to do it again.
- [MAN] Yeah.
[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE]
[IN SPANISH] Be careful.
[MELISSA] Since I am young,
I still don't have all the tools
the experienced people
might have.
I feel like 80% of me
suffers from impostor syndrome.
I'm always thinking about how
someone else could be in my place
or might have done
a better job than me.
["MELTING" BY KALI UCHIS PLAYS]
[CLAPPING]
[LAUGHING] I'm really nervous right now.
It's your first fashion show?
- Yeah, it's all crochet...
- Wow.
my mom made your whole dress.
- [MAN] Yes.
- [MODEL] That is...
It goes from generation
to generation, I understand.
[MELISSA] It's amazing to be here for me.
It's amazing for me, too,
and a pleasure to be working with you.
[LAUGHS]
[IN SPANISH] I feel super proud
of who I am,
of what I've gone through to get here
and how it all happened.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS IN SPANISH]
[RAPPING IN SPANISH] I speak with love
don't misinterpret my flow
And what fault is it of mine
That my talent is my art?
[SPEAKING NORMALLY]
I grew up in a fairly...
musical environment, very free.
[RAPPING] I've been given everything
Everything, everything
Rhythm, power, street flow
[SPEAKING] When we were children,
my cousins taught us to sing in harmony.
That each of us has her own voice,
so when we get together,
we naturally harmonize.
So, it's like, everyone
goes with their own voice.
I have a daughter named Saba.
Do you remember how to brake?
Through Saba, I learned a lot.
[SABA] Strength...
you have to use strength.
[GOYO] And one of the things
I mostly learned from Saba
is not to give up
my dream for anything.
I hope others
can feel it and share my essence
or certain specific... state.
Which is the birth of the panther.
I say panther because it's like...
an animal I identify with a lot.
To be real for me is
about showing that strength and...
and the panther claws.
[AFRO-LATIN REGGAETON]
[RAPPING IN SPANISH]
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show,
La pantera
[GIGI WHISPERS]
Oh. Let me grab my walkie.
Calling all models to the runway.
Let's line it up, ladies. It's showtime.
["HOLD ON" BY EN VOGUE PLAYS]
[SONG SPEEDS UP]
[DANCE REMIX OF "HEADS WILL ROLL"
BY THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS PLAYS]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[LOW RUMBLING]
[CHIMES, LOW CHORDS]
[THUNDERCLAP]
[THUNDER, RAIN]
[HEELS CLICKING]
["THAT GIRL" BY BREE RUNWAY PLAYS]
- [SONG ENDS]
- [CHEERS, APPLAUSE]
[BIRDSONG]
[GIGI] I mean, come on.
We had to bring back
a little bit of the old show.
[LAUGHS]
Oh! This is one of my favorites.
Wait for it. Wait for it!
The tube!
That's right. We're going to London.
To meet Phoebe,
Ebun,
Supriya,
Michaela,
and Margot.
[SUPRIYA] Ooh, yeah.
I think it's really pretty.
Honestly.
If this is all in the silver yarn
with a silver fringe
and then a silver bra,
it could be quite, like, ooh.
I'm Supriya Lele. I'm a fashion designer.
Cut this and then let's brush this.
My inspiration for the collections
ranges between punk referencing
and '90s fashion imagery,
but mostly, I was looking
at ancient Indian sculpture.
Goddess motifs.
- The female form, the body.
- [CAMERA SHUTTER]
From really historical points of view.
And I wanted to understand
how that could be made contemporary
with my kind of touch.
[MODEL] Hello, everyone.
[LAUGHING]
[SUPRIYA] So we're gonna try
the long skirt on now with fringing.
'Cause we're gonna trim it all at the show
so that it's, like, layered.
[GASPS] Look at that.
It looks really beautiful on you, Jess.
How does it feel?
[JESS] Very gorgeous,
very sexy and slinky.
[SUPRIYA] And let's do the skirt next.
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
[WOMAN LAUGHS]
Nasty girl.
My name is Ebun. Ebun Sodipo.
I've lived in the UK for 18 years now.
This is Naomi Campbell's waist
in a Versace in like 1988 or something.
I would describe my job as like
an artist, a writer, a storyteller.
I make objects or worlds
that other people can enjoy.
I'm a woman. I feel great.
[LAUGHS] It's like a moment.
So I'm in like the process
of writing the script
so I've got, like, some locations.
I'm working on a video collage.
This is the first time
that I'm, one, using my own body,
but also making my own imagery.
I wanted to continue thinking about...
Black trans women's specific history.
I want to make our story more meaningful
to what it means to be human.
'Cause I feel like it's not at the moment.
[LO-FI MUSIC]
I find it's the hardest thing
whenever someone says,
"What do you do?" I'm like...
I usually say, "I make corsets."
'Cause I honestly...
I don't know how to describe my job.
In high school,
it was very much a thing of like...
everyone was so excited
for the Victoria's Secret show.
We'd all put it in our diaries,
go and watch it, like, it was a big thing.
But it was also that culture around it
of not wanting to eat after you saw it.
This was genuinely an opportunity
to even further delve into
that feeling I had as a teenager
and the roots
of the body dysmorphia that I felt.
And actually tackle them
from the archives in Ohio.
How many pieces
do you reckon are in there?
[ASSISTANT] A billion.
[MICHELA] Do you reckon
there's some pieces that Giselle wore?
[BOTH SCREAMING, LAUGHING]
Oh, my God, this is so exciting.
Oh, my God.
Wow. Oh, my God.
[SWEEPING CLASSICAL MUSIC]
Ah, this is so cute!
This is like a corset here,
but what if you like moved it here?
Oh, my God, this is giving Barbie in Ohio.
- [ASSISTANT LAUGHS]
- [MICHAELA] Age of elegance.
Is this a skirt or is this wings?
Give us a... Give us a... Give us a...
[CAMERA SHUTTERS]
[MICHAELA] This is crazy.
I wish I could tell my, like...
like 14-year-old self.
- Don't lose a pound, girl.
- [RAP SONG PLAYS]
- [GASPS]
- [LAUGHS]
- [WOMAN] Amazing, wow.
- [LAUGHING]
[LAUGHING]
- [SONG CUTS OUT]
- Hello?
Oh, my God, I'll be right there.
- Ding ding!
- [CHARLIE LAUGHS]
- [LAUGHTER]
- [ETHEREAL MUSIC]
This one. That.
That. Definitely the bow one.
Um, specifically the wings.
Oh, I want to... Oh, my God, sorry.
I want to try the wings. The fairy tale.
Now I'll just get the full...
Oh, this one's... [LAUGHS]
[CHARLIE] It's a long day.
[MICHAELA] It's been a long day
in the office.
Oh, no.
[FUTURISTIC MUSIC]
My name is Phoebe Collings-James,
and I'm a sculptor.
I grew up in a part of East London
that has lots of very dense forests
right next to concrete,
right on the edge of the city.
Those are the two textures of ceramics.
You know, you start off
with the soil and the clay,
and then you end up with the rock.
It's a process that mimics nature,
but it's a process of fire
that I have control over.
[FLAMES WHOOSHING]
I wanted to work with bronze
because it's another process of firework.
'Cause it causes transformation, and,
you know, it's quite a magical process.
I already had the idea
of making these five objects
that had a lot of heavy symbolism for me.
Sort of a mixture of characters
that could work in some ways as a whole.
Those are the rose, the spoon,
a house, an eye, and a bell.
For me, the bell represents
the burden of time.
The next is the rose,
where I'm really thinking
about the Barrington Levy song.
"Black roses in my garden."
That you have to care for it.
That you have to water it.
Only you can tend to your own garden
at the end of the day.
The house, I think about quite literally
as the space
that's full of support and grounding.
The spoon makes me think of what it is
to be or not to be spoon fed things.
And the eye forms the final part,
which is the witness.
[WOMAN] And what's your thought
about this piece?
It's so heavy.
[WOMAN, LAUGHS]
The weight of the world?
One, neckpiece.
- Two, a headpiece as well.
- Yeah. Ah! Oh, my gosh.
[CHARLIE] Which corset string
do you want for this? Yellow...
[MICHAELA] The yellow one, yellow.
Me and Charlie have just been in here
all hours of the day sewing, basically.
I need to get everything done.
I need to get all the sewing done.
I need to like sort out everything...
It's like party in her studio
- [CEVAL] Hi.
- [MICHAELA] Hi.
[CHARLIE] Oh, my God, hi!
- How are you?
- [CEVAL] I'm good.
[MICHAELA] Obviously,
my work is quite invasive
to put onto someone that you don't know.
Every time I start working
with a new model
it does have to happen with care.
And it is about what
a model feels comfortable in.
And, you know, celebrating those parts
they're worried
or that they felt insecure about.
Yeah, bang on.
- Oh, my God. I've got a size bigger.
- [LAUGHTER]
I feel so strong and like elegant
and sexy already.
Even like my hands and my feet
are like standing different already,
and I'm like just constantly
just holding and posing.
[TECHNO DANCE MUSIC]
- [MUSIC SLOWS]
- [LAUGHTER]
[INDISTINCT DIALOGUE]
[WOMAN] My body is like
a political statement
in itself, you know what I mean?
So, like, the way
that it's used is so important,
and like having, like, the right gaze
on your body is so important.
[EBUN] I think that the reason
that I feel like I'm here, in a way,
is to make sure that like...
the voices of, like, my ancestors
are, like, heard again
or like to make sure
that there is still some life given
to those who have, like, gone before.
[WAVES CRASHING]
She does not remember the name she wore
the place she stood before the capture.
Before the sea,
before the hold,
only the vague shape of them remained
and so she gave herself a new name,
after the color of where sky becomes sea.
Celeste,
She of the sea
[SEWING MACHINE WHIRRING]
[SUPRIYA] With these bloomers.
Let's see that.
Let's see that.
I've got five minutes.
We can attach it somewhere else.
I don't kn... you know, add more weight.
[BACKGROUND CHATTER]
Go on and kind of section everything out.
And then it either gets hand-looped on
with a crochet...
[SUPRIYA] I use clothes as a way
of playing with expression.
But on a deeper level,
I like to look at my Indian heritage
and British identity
and sort of explore
the tension between the two.
[INDIAN INSTRUMENTALS]
My grandmother on my mom's side.
She'd wear like a very simple,
like, beautiful material.
Like, the most beautiful silk.
But just so simple.
I'm remembering that.
I grew up from like 12 till 18
in this little village
in the West Midlands
making these annual trips to India.
I never felt fully Indian enough
when I was there, I guess.
I felt very English.
Here's a belt ready.
We made these amazing hardware pieces
from 3D printed metal.
- I can't believe that that was 3D printed.
- [WOMAN] Mmm.
And also, that looks so old
but was made in such a new way.
Yeah, it's cool, isn't it?
[EXCITING MUSIC]
What an experience
to work on a scale like this.
It's something
that I've never done before.
I am obviously nervous.
But I... when I see my work come to life,
it's like the most addictive feeling.
It's amazing.
[SOUND OF GENTLE RAINFALL]
[FLOWING WATER]
[TRANQUIL SYNTH MUSIC, SPLASHING]
["INNER CITY LIFE" BY GOLDIE PLAYS]
[FLAMES CRACKLING]
[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]
[SONG FADES OUT]
[NIGHTTIME FROGS]
[GIGI] And finally,
wait, guys, how are we getting to Japan?
Oh! Paloma.
See that mirror?
Do me a favor. Can you open it?
This is Tokyo.
[GENTLE MUSIC WITH BAMBOO FLUTE]
[WOMAN IN JAPANESE] In Tokyo,
sometimes you can see the blue sun.
The blue sun could appear suddenly,
right in front of us.
When the scent of the oily night city
is wrapped by the morning light.
When the hustle and bustle of the daytime
gradually gets swallowed by the night.
The incredibly short,
fleeting moments of this blue hour
as the sky transitions
are just like the lives of us women
frantic, observed by others,
and before we know it, they vanish.
The movie you are about to watch
is a story of women
Living in a city
coldly lit by blue a sun.
[NOCTURNAL SOUNDSCAPE]
My name is Jen Fang.
I'm from Taiwan,
and now I live in Tokyo.
I have a fashion brand called JennyFax.
[SCISSORS SNIPPING]
I also don't know what is fashion
[LAUGHING] if I want to be so honest.
So I prefer to say I make clothes.
I love clothes.
This new collection is about
my age as a woman's body and
what we have
and what we feel in the ordinary life.
[PENCIL SCRATCHING]
I need to show
the honest side of myself
like, this week I'm this sad.
Because if I always try to
only show the bright side
I think I will never reach my community.
So I just want to tell:
it's really okay to show you're sad.
It's okay to feel sad.
Jenny Fax. [LAUGHS]
[MUFFLED CONVERSATION]
[CHEERFUL JAPANESE MUSICAL INTRO]
[CAMERA SHUTTER SNAPPING]
Excuse me, do you have a minute?
Which TV program is this?
- Uh, VSTV.
- [CHIME]
What is blue sunshine?
You mean like the sun becomes blue?
Yes.
- I think it must be the end of the world.
- [THEATRICAL GASP]
[ECLECTIC MUSIC]
[KOMI IN JAPANESE]
My name is KomI. I'm an artist.
I joined the band Wednesday Campanella
when I was 18 years old.
I was about 20 years old
when I started to become famous.
I think that was too early.
It was difficult to be my normal self.
Now, I play experimental music.
I improvise a lot.
I also incorporate elements
from traditional music.
[TRADITIONAL JAPANESE MUSIC PLAYING]
I'm Aoi Yamada. I'm a performer.
My day is usually all over the place.
The set elements are
waking up in the morning
making miso soup
and making a bento box for my husband.
I want to help him maintain his health
and making a bento
feels a bit like meditation.
Then comes whatever flows for that day.
[LIP-SYNCING TO JAPANESE POP SONG]
I realized that dances
can be born from everyday life
and that made me happy.
[KAITO] My name is Kaito Itsuki,
and I'm an artist.
Ever since I was a small child,
I've been slow to become human.
I couldn't understand
what was going on around me.
Let's say that normal people are game apps
that can be played
while you are downloading them.
I was a game app that couldn't be played
until the download was complete.
I was looking at the ceiling one day
when I was a junior in college
and all of a sudden,
things started making sense
as if the download had just finished.
From that day on,
I started calling it 'The Revelation, '
it was a special thing.
[CHEERFUL JAPANESE MUSICAL INTRO]
- [CAMERA SHUTTER]
- [CHIME]
What do you think a blue sun is?
A blueberry.
A blueberry.
When do you think you see
that blueberry/blue sun?
When I imagine it with all my heart.
[STRANGE, ETHEREAL MUSIC]
I'm scared of words.
Truly.
I started dancing around age six.
I kept doing it, happy I'd finally found
a way to distance myself from speaking.
I express what lies
in the space between words.
I think that's what my dancing is.
[KOMI] There might be other ways
to have children in the future,
but I'm pregnant right now.
It feels loving and alien all at once.
I've been very afraid of having a child
because it could hinder my career.
But when I got pregnant
and decided to have a baby,
it was the opposite.
I was like, "I'm going to do it,
no matter what!
Whatever happens, I'll make sure
everything turns out okay."
This collection is more about, like
myself now, being 43 years old.
So I wanted to use my own body.
I found it really interesting
if I created my own size.
So I wear the garbage bag,
and then my husband tapes around me
and then after
I wanted to make it become a mold.
I wanted to make it into a new shape
that everyone can try.
Like the woman who works in the caf
or the mother
or the housewife
or the ordinary woman.
They can have their own spotlight.
[IN JAPANESE]
I came to Tokyo when I was 15.
I met people who I consider
my Tokyo family.
Meeting them
was a big turning point for me.
I realized I could just be myself.
My biological family is probably...
a so-called ordinary family.
To me, family are relations I want to
continue in the future.
[HOLLOW BOUNCING SOUND]
I have my own brand, JennyFax.
And my husband has his own brand.
And we work together in the same studio.
[APPLAUSE]
I'm often recognized as Mikio's wife than
Jen Fang, the name.
I have heard people saying, "the wife"
or "shadow" or "why is she there?"
But the really good thing is
my husband will never
think of me in that way.
[BRIGHT MUSIC]
I need help. [LAUGHS]
Before I'm more nervous
how these clothes were gonna come out.
But, uh, I think it come out okay, yeah.
So, I'm not that nervous.
- [CHIME]
- [UPBEAT INTRO]
What do you think a blue sun is?
[KAITO] Hmm...
I think I can see it
when life turns
from ordinary to extraordinary.
- Thank you.
- Yes, thank you.
[CHEERS, WHISTLES]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[CROWD OOHS, AHS]
Hmm.
Itsuki!
[GRUNTING WITH EFFORT]
[ALL SQUEALING]
[SHOUTS]
I'm a carrot!
[CROWD LAUGHS, CHEERS]
[DANCE BEAT PLAYS]
Blue sun, oh, so blue
Always chasing the red evening sky
The sweet little sister
Asleep all winter
And all night
The sleepy girl wakes up
Rise, oh, rise!
Blue sun, which are you?
Blueberry or the green light
You will only know if you go
My body
All mine
If you want to taste test
Try, oh, try
- [SONG WARPS]
- [UMI] Cut!
[BELL RINGS]
[SONG SLOWLY BUILDS AGAIN]
Blue sun, oh so blue
Living tomorrow in solitude
My itty bitty lucky charm
On the rush-hour train
On Tinder, in the pub
Amid the throng, life flows on
On and on!
Here we go!
[MUSIC SHIFTS TO SLOW, MAJESTIC HORNS]
[CAR HORNS HONKING]
[WOMAN HUMMING SOFTLY]
[CAR SIGNAL CLICKING]
- ["SHINZO NO TOBIRA" BY MARIAH PLAYS]
- [NAILS SCREECH]
[SONG ENDS WITH PIANO FLOURISH]
[MUFFLED HISSING]
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
Doja.
[RAP INTRO]
Let me get it started
- Round one
- (FIGHT)
- Round two
- (ICE)
- Round three
- (FIGHT)
Come one, let me get it started
- Round one
- (FIGHT)
- Round two
- (ICE)
- Round three
- (FIGHT)
Yeah
I don't need to instigate
Y'all already phonin' in
With the music lately
I don't need another hit
'Cuz it's useless really
I ain't lookin' good?
You hallucinating
And every time I hear talk
I assume they crazy
Open up for me
Who are you? First lady?
Shut it down Michelle,
Tell them, "Fuck you, baby"
This a new Mercedes
I am graduating
Let me get it started
- Round one
- (FIGHT)
- Round two
- (ICE)
- Round three
- (FIGHT)
Let me get it started
- Round one
- (FIGHT)
- Round two
- (ICE)
- Yeah, round three
- (FIGHT)
Mmm, and there's so much ice
She want to hit me
I said, "No, Mike Tyson"
It's 2050
They won't owe you all this
A hundred Billies tryna go
No, Eilish
You full of envy
Now your face look tired
Used to be the baby
My, you Martin now
She gonna need another doc
Can't talk me down
You better pick her up
'Cuz ho's brawlin' now
So let me get it started
- Round one
- (FIGHT)
- Round two
- (ICE)
- Round three
- (FIGHT)
Yeah, let me get it started
- Round one
- (FIGHT)
- Round two
- (ICE)
- Round three
- (FIGHT)
Come on!
- [SONG CONTINUES]
- Musty, dusty bitches
Don't you ever, ever
Enjoy life
Come for me
Enjoy life
Come for me
Enjoy life
Come for me
Enjoy life
Come for me
[SONG ENDS]
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
[GIGI] And that concludes
my favorite Victoria's Secret show ever.
I think.
I think ever.
That was fun.
Thanks, y'all.