Some objects outlive the moments that made them. What does it take for a single piece to become a tradition, one that audiences wait years to see again?

For Victoria’s Secret, the answer has always been the Fantasy Bra. Since 1996, when Claudia Schiffer first wore it, it has been the show’s crown jewel, a piece of lingerie reimagined as high jewellery.

Karolina Kurkova walked in a diamond-studded negligée in 2006, Miranda Kerr in 2008, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima in 2014, and Elsa Hosk in 2018. When the show returned in 2024 after a six-year hiatus, the wings were back but the bra was not. This year, on October 18, the wait ended, with Kylie Jenner wearing the most valuable Fantasy Bra ever made.

Also Read: Victoria’s Secret’s $50 million Fantasy Bra on Kylie Jenner has 4,410 diamonds and you have to see it

The man behind it is Jacob Arabo, the founder of Jacob & Co., a house known for ultra-lavish statement pieces. Working with Adam Selman, he set out to honour the legacy of the Fantasy Bra and raise the bar.

What matters most is the emotion it creates when you see it on the runway

Says Arabo. For Selman, the choice was instinctive. Arabo, he says, designs for the person who wears the piece, and that is what Victoria’s Secret has always stood for.

 

The result, valued at $50 million, carries 4,410 natural diamonds that fall into fringe from front to back. At its centre sits a 75.54-carat natural yellow diamond, graded “Fancy Vivid,” the highest rating for colour saturation. The piece contains no textile at all.

 

Articulated segments of precious gold form its foundation, drawn from Jacob & Co.’s jewellery that shapes metal to move with the body like fabric. Though made entirely of metal and stone, it was designed to follow the body’s curves, flexible and comfortable to wear.

The most tender detail lies within the diamonds themselves. Among the pear, heart, oval, marquise, and round brilliant stones sits the house’s proprietary Angel-Cut, named for Arabo’s wife, Angela. Its 37 facets stand for 37 years of marriage, a message to her set in light. The cut took two years to develop, and each stone was placed by hand in a specialised setting.

Every component was cleaned, filed, and pre-polished by hand, and fifteen artisans worked for over 1,000 hours to bring the piece together. Arabo began at the jeweller’s bench, and the work shows his regard for that skill.

Also Read: She once doubted her place in modelling, now Ravleen Varghese walks the Victoria’s Secret runway

Every year since 2006, the Fantasy Bra has arrived with a fresh theme and a price between $3 million and $15 million. For many who grew up watching the show, it was never only about the diamonds. It was a glimpse of glamour, an everyday object made magic. This year’s piece stays true to that spirit, with a love story set in its facets.

From the jeweller’s bench, to the runway.