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By all accounts told to GRAZIA (thanks Georgia Fowler!), making the cut for the inaugural Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is an arduous task at best. Most of the models you see with wings these days auditioned two, three, fives times until they became part of the show. Others walked once and then didn’t get chosen to come back. The selection process is brutal (Taylor Hill only landed the role after five years of attending castings in front of casting director Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou and creative director Ed Razek).

For Fowler, the most surprising part of the VS experience was meeting 17-year veterans Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima. “The most surprising thing was how nervous and excited they were, ” Fowler said. “It was cool to see that it wasn’t just us who were freaking out and that everyone loved being there. Ed [Razek] from VS said it was one of the best shows so that was really special.”

“It was amazing and all you would kind of think it would be even though it is hyped up so much and on a pedestal,” she continued remembering her first show in Paris in 2016. “It was so much fun, even the girls who had done it so many times before were all shaking with nerves before going out. It’s been a big dream for me so it was awesome to finally get to do it.”

In this year’s Road To The Runway video series, the lingerie giant releases footage from the first castings which include Australia’s Narrandera-raised 26-year-old Victoria Lee (we all know how this ends). Here, take a peek inside the castings ahead of the show in Shanghai in December proving nice and for all, in the big business of smalls, more (personality) is always more. (And hint: As Neophitou-Apostolou points out, this year is shaping up to be the best line-up the brand has ever had.)