Kylie Jenner made headlines when she walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway on Sunday night wearing the most expensive Fantasy Bra in Victoria's Secret history. But now that the show is over, the next question is: Where will it go next?
This Fantasy Bra, worth $50 million, marked the return of the jewel-encrusted lingerie for the first time since 2018. (Some fans criticized the company's decision to give Jenner the coveted honor instead of a veteran Angel.) It was designed in collaboration with luxury jeweler Jacob & Co. Fifteen artisans spent more than 1,000 hours creating the nearly four-pound piece, which featured 4,410 natural diamonds, including a 75.54-carat yellow diamond at its center.
A representative for Jacob & Co. told USA
TODAY that this year’s bra will return to the company's boutique in New York and will eventually be made available for private purchase.
This is in keeping with what's happened to the Fantasy Bra in years past. That's because, unlike a traditional designer gown that might be preserved in a fashion archive, the Fantasy Bra can contain millions of dollars' worth of gemstones that retain value independently of the garment. But mystery still surrounds the specific whereabouts of the diamond-encrusted pieces from years past.
What happened to past Fantasy Bras?
The first-ever Fantasy Bra was created in 1996 and worn by Claudia Schiffer for Victoria’s Secret. It wasn't until 2001 that the Fantasy Bra made its runway debut, becoming one of the most anticipated moments of the annual fashion show.
The bras became increasingly extravagant, with some of the world's most famous supermodels selected to wear them. Heidi Klum modeled the $10 million Millennium Bra in 1999, while in 2000 Gisele Bündchen wore the $15 million Red Hot Fantasy Bra, which held the price record until this year.
In the recession era, the price of the Fantasy Bras dipped before creeping back up again in 2013 when Candice Swanepoel wore the $10 million Royal Fantasy Bra. In 2014, models Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima wore the matching $2 million Dream Angels Fantasy Bras.
In 2018, before the Fantasy Bra’s eight-year absence, Elsa Hosk wore a $1 million creation featuring more than 2,100 Swarovski-created diamonds.
Bejeweled bras at Victoria's Secret retail for upwards of $100, but don't feature real gemstones like the Fantasy Bra. The concept behind the Fantasy Bra is to generate publicity by creating a memorable fashion moment, but the hype hasn't translated into actual sales.
Back in 2006, jewelry company Hearts on Fire was behind the $6.5 million Fantasy Bra worn by Karolína Kurková. Danielle Daugsiewicz, a marketing coordinator for the jeweler, told the Los Angeles Times in 2013 that the company had hoped to find a buyer for the diamond-encrusted lingerie, but no one purchased it.
Instead, the bra was returned to Hearts on Fire, where its approximately 2,000 diamonds were removed and repurposed into other jewelry.
AsJeweller Magazine reported in 2013, the Fantasy Bras were routinely offered for sale but generally failed to attract buyers, leaving jewelers to dismantle the pieces after their promotional runs.
Still, there have been reported exceptions, including the sale of the centerpiece diamond from the 2004 Heavenly "70" Fantasy Bra and the 2012 Floral Fantasy Bra and Gift Set.
Could the Fantasy Bra end up in an exhibit?
There is precedent for Victoria's Secret preserving and displaying pieces from its fashion shows. In 2017, the company's Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City housed a lingerie museum featuring a retrospective of its runway history, including elaborate looks from the previous year's show in Paris. According to Time Out New York, the exhibit offered visitors an opportunity to see the craftsmanship behind the televised spectacle up close.
More recently, Victoria's Secret opened a temporary exhibit featuring actual wings worn by models during its 2024 fashion show. The display, located on the third floor of its Fifth Avenue store, ran from November 2024 through March 2025. While those temporary exhibits did not include any Fantasy Bras, they suggest the brand remains interested in showcasing its runway history.
Why this year's Fantasy Bra is different
So what do you do with a bra worth $50 million – three times the previous record valuation for a Fantasy Bra? Designed by Jacob Arabo, founder of Jacob & Co., the piece was constructed entirely from precious metal and gemstones rather than conventional lingerie fabric.
The design incorporated thousands of diamonds arranged to move with Jenner's body, requiring the artisans to balance the appearance of fine jewelry with the flexibility of a wearable garment.
Adam Selman, Victoria's Secret's chief creative officer, told Vogue that the Fantasy Bra's return was driven by demand from fans of the fashion show.
"It's almost museum quality," Selman said of the elaborate creation.
For now, the $50 million Fantasy Bra has already accomplished what it and its predecessors were designed to do: Generate headlines, spark conversation and command attention far beyond the runway. Its next destination remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kylie Jenner's $50M Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra will go up for sale
