Gigi Hadid on How Victoria’s Secret Show Is More Special as a Mom (Exclusive)

Gigi Hadid spoke with “Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi backstage in hair and makeup before the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. 

Talking about being back on the Victoria’s Secret runway for the brand’s first show in six years, Gigi said, “This show was always a dream come true for me… I used to go to castings, not just for the show but, like, to do lookbooks for VS, and not get it and go back and I always loved the show and I will never forget the first time that I was told I got in.

She went on, “Because it’s been six years, today really feels like kind of the first time again. It’s just really great. Like, there’s so many women that I’ve grown up in this industry with and have known through different chapters of my career, there’s girls that I watched in the show when I was still in high school and was such a fan of them, and it’s really fun now because Victoria’s Secret is really being run by and led by women.”

What’s she wearing on the runway? “The biggest wings I have ever had in a show. I have a pretty special moment in the show and I’m just, like, grateful. It’s just when I’m standing there and putting on the wings, I feel 13 again, and I can’t think about it too much or I’ll get emotional. I know my mom is going to be watching on TV… definitely crying, so I’m just going to try to not think about that too much.”

Gigi also reflected on how being a mom has made the experience different. She shared, “I think also being a mom and just appreciating the time that I get to work and prioritize the jobs that I really want to do… There’s more focus on being present and really taking it all in like what does it smell like, look around, don’t black out at the end of the runway, remember what you’re doing and really be there.”

Saying many friends will be in the audience, she noted, “I’m so excited my mom’s having a watch party with her girlfriends… a little wine-and-cheese moment. So, that’ll be cute.”

She also shared her routine the morning of the show, revealing, “This morning, I don’t know if it was the mixture of, like, feeling nervous but also so nostalgic and excited, and it made me go back to that time where I would watch this show in my bedroom and I decided that the soundtrack of the day would be the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack, so I’ve been listening to that since 7:00 a.m. and it just, like, puts me in a good mood. I love this show because of the production of it, the costumes, obviously the wings, the sets, the music… all of it reminds me of a Broadway production, so I think that that’s where my ‘Wicked’ inspiration came from today.”