On Tuesday night, millions of viewers watched an Angel fall.
It happened almost halfway through CBS' Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, when Angel (aka supermodel) Ming Xi tripped over the embellished, sheer white cape that was part of an ensemble that included silver lingerie and a floral headpiece.
The fall — and Xi's lauded recovery from it — easily became the most memorable moment in the annual fashion event that pairs gorgeous women and flashy lingerie with pop stars.
It's not about how we fall, it's about how we get up. #VSFashionShow pic.twitter.com/NCe08O8OjU
— CBS (@CBS) November 29, 2017
This year's show was set in Shanghai, and had memorable performances from Harry Styles and a finale runway walk from famous Angel Alessandra Ambrosia. But Xi's misstep will be one of the top things people remember from the hour-long special.
Here's how it went down.
Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. was singing a tearjerking cover of Sara Bareilles’ Winter Song, when the excited Xi told cameras about the Shanghai-set show, "It’s my hometown," she said. "My family is there."
Then, Xi started to make her way around the stage like the other models, and the high-heeled strutting was going fine, until Xi's cape creeped underneath one of her sandals. The 28-year-old lost her footing and fell forward.
Miraculously, Xi smiled sweetly throughout entire ordeal, even as she adjusted her branch-like headpiece and stood back up. Fellow Angel Gizele Oliveira, who walked right behind Xi, offered her hand and her applause.
The audio “Ming has fallen… oh my goodness” was then played during the telecast, apparently from microphones of people backstage. “Gizele’s got her,” one disembodied voice said.
Xi finished her lap on the LED-lit stage dry-eyed, before quietly crying backstage.
“Happens to the best of them. Sometimes we fall; we get back up,” Odom told cameras after his performance became the soundtrack for Xi's tumble. “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
That sentiment was echoed throughout social media after Xi’s notable runway walk, with some of her now 950k Instagram followers saying “Everyone falls sometimes, even angels,” as @christina.carlson put it, and “Keep going (girlfriend),” as @lizbeth197 wrote.
After the special was filmed last week, Xi shared a message to her followers about that incident that every model fears: “It was no doubt one of the hardest moments I have ever had to go through in my career, especially since the show was taking place in my hometown, in front of my mother's and my people's eyes. However, the support I received from everyone yesterday was incredible and I am truly grateful to everyone who was there for me… I will pick myself up from where I fell, and I will keep going in order to repay all the support you all have given me!!”
All of this begs a question, though: In a show that is heavily edited, why keep Xi’s mistake in the telecast?
Well, for one, it’s so that VS and CBS can send positive-message tweets like this: "Angels always get back up—cheers to @mengyaoxi for her grace & determination!"
