Victoria's Secret Swim Cover Model 2013: Candice Swanepoel [VIDEO & PHOTO]
Victoria's Secret Angel and South African beauty Candice Swanepoel graced the 2013 issue of the brand's swim catalogue, its first swimsuit issue this season out Thursday.
In the cover shot, Swanepoel wears a Very Sexy bandeau top, one of Victoria's Secret's newest items, and for the catalogue, the 24-year-old and fellow Victoria's Secret models hit the beaches of Miami and Turks and Caicos, and were shot by photographer Russell James.
Swanepoel has been on the cover of the swimsuit issue before, however, she is still humbled by being chosen.
"It was such an honor to be picked for the cover," Swanepoel said to People. "It is such an iconic catalogue. Before I was a model, I used to see Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks and all of those iconic women on it. It is amazing that a little South African girl can get on the cover."
She added that she does not usually get nervous about the photo shoots, saying Victoria's Secret is "like a big family."
"The swim shoots are always really fun, and I love being on the beach," she said. "I can't really complain [about my job] - I feel very lucky!"
This year, Victoria's Secret began the Angels & Artists video series, pairing hit songs with the brand's models posing in bikinis. The first clip in the series, "Bikinis & Bruno Mars," features Swanepoel and Doutzen Kroes modeling to Mars' hit song "Locked Out of Heaven," which he also performed at the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Others videos in the series will be released throughout the swimsuit season.
Swanepoel started with Victoria's Secret as a fit model, meaning she was used by creative heads to simply try on pieces in the collection so designers could see what the outifts look like on the body. The company then decided to put Swanepoel in their 2011 fashion show, her first one with the brand, and since, then her career has exceeded VS. She has done modeling for Brian Atwood, Versace, and has been on the cover of Elle, Muse, GQ, Bazaar, and Vogue, to name a few.
