What a Victoria’s Secret Model Can Teach You
By
March 23, 2010
In the coming months, at a moment that will be your most desperate or your finest, you will be forced to wear a bathing suit. This is one of the unfortunate by products of the time in which we live. Some of us are just more fit for the times, notably Candice Swanpoel, Victoria’s Secret Model extraordinaire. The Victoria’s Secret lifestyle always seems to full of jetskis and dolphins and this season, neon colors, but we wanted to know more. We asked Swanpoel about her love of bathing suits, her experience filming a commercial entitled ” The Nakeds by Victoria’s Secret,” and calling the beach her office. Swanpoel won’t pick her favorite moment for Victoria’s Secret, but she was extra ecite about the “six amazing sets… including a forest and a jungle” that they built for her to romp around in:
REBECCA HARRINGTON: You were discovered at a Durban flea market by a model scout when you were 15 years old. What was it like being transported from South Africa to the runways of New York and Milan?
CANDICE SWANPOEL: I was always an adventurous little girl and knew that I wanted to see the world, so it was all very exciting! I grew up on a farm and had such a pure, protected childhood. The thought of what else was out there really fascinated me. It took me a while to adjust to being on my own and I was extremely homesick in the beginning. This life has exposed me to so many interesting and beautiful experiences and relationships, all the things I dreamed about seeing when I was little and so much more.
HARRINGTON: How did you start working with Victoria’s Secret?
SWANPOEL: I was living in Paris at the time and my booker told me that they were having the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show casting and that I should fly to NYC for it. I was a little hesitant at first because I did not think I would have much of a chance, but I flew to New York for the casting and got booked. I’ve been working with them ever since.
HARRINGTON: Is it incredibly nerve racking to get photographed in your underwear or have you become desensitized to it at this point?
SWANPOEL: Most of the time it comes naturally to me. I love being in lingerie because I feel so free. The more clothes, the more complicated but I still have some days, like all women, where I don’t feel so great about myself and I’d rather be in a baggy T-shirt and jeans.
