MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- The curvy Fountainebleau Resort in Miami Beach is no stranger to sexy. The historic lodge that once put up legends like Presley and Sinatra handled itself well when invaded by the Angels of Victoria's Secret on Nov. 15. The result? Heaven.

Miles of synthetic hair, countless fake eyelashes and a sizeable booth devoted to spray tanning overflowed the appropriately-named "Glimmer" ballroom in the newly renovated landmark.

Amid the hundreds of people buzzing around the room, robes in that particular Victoria's Secret shade of fuchsia marked the 34 stars of the show. Perched in their director's chairs being prodded and primped, it looks as if they were all modeling in the womb, born for this, but in the case of Behati Prinsloo, she would rather be spending her days with the creatures of the sea.

Prinsloo is the newest face of Victoria's Secret's Pink line, launched in 2004. The 6-foot stunner never dreamed of modeling.

"Growing up, I had no friends or no family or no one in the business, and you kind of see it in the magazines and you're like, 'whatever.' It's beautiful, but you don't really know. I didn't really think about it ever because I wanted to study marine biology in Cape Town and then this happened," Prinsloo said.

"This" is a certain trip to a Cape Town, South Africa, grocery store while on vacation from nearby Namibia with her family. Prinsloo was discovered at age 16 while with her grandmother by the same scout who saw something in Kate Moss.

Family is important to the 20-year-old.

Somewhat of a rock star when she returns to the small Namibian town of Grootfontein, Prinsloo, in true teenager fashion, is happiest to be eating her mom's cooking again.

"There's a lot of very poor people, like the States has, but that have nothing, and I think it kind of opens you up to a mindset of a lot of charity. I think it was for the better. I think it shaped my life for the better," she said of her upbringing in Namibia.

Now a New Yorker enjoying the availability of burgers and fries in the middle of the night, Prinsloo's roots are still firmly planted in Africa, and she would like to return to Cape Town eventually and have a family of her own "long from now."

After hours of preparation, the lights dimmed and music thumped through the enormous white tent situated adjacent to the famous bow-tie pool area featured in the movie "Scarface."

"You never feel like you're ready. Minutes before you get on the runway you think, 'Oh, I wish I had done more.' When the music starts, there's no going back. You're like, 'OK, this is the moment.' I'm a nervous wreck. My heart feels like it's going to go out my mouth. My heart is jumping like I'm going to have a heart attack. But it feels so great when you're on the runway," one Angel said of her pre-runway rituals. "I try to breathe. When you get nervous, you forget to breathe. I breathe naturally, and I have a little prayer that my friend taught me how to do before I go on the runway. It's a protection prayer."

Singing "This Ain't Sex," Usher glided out onto the glitter-covered runway. A flirty moment was captured when veteran Angel Heidi Klum stole his fedora as she stomped by. Angel Adriana Lima locked arms with the performer.

"I don't do too much differently than normal. I'm usually always in shape and fit. I try to not do too much different before. I mean, I don't have that much carbs, so not so much spaghetti and breads," Klum said.

The 35-year-old wife and mother said she enjoys soup and German dishes prepared by her mother, who attended the show with Klum's husband, Seal. Her gladiator-inspired first look more than shows off the benefits of her healthy lifestyle choices.

If the ample, bronzed skin wasn't enough to hold interest, rapid set changes kept the eyes darting. The Ballet Des Fleurs collection was modeled through a flurry of pink faux rose petals while Angels walked beneath dropped crystal chandeliers to show off the Black Tie Holiday collection, including a $5 million bra, the Black Diamond Fantasy Miracle Bra worn by Adriana Lima. Designed by jeweler Martin Katz, the lavish brassiere weighs in at 1,500 carats.

Packing a punch is the Pink segment, kicked off with a troop of whimsical dancers and followed by Prinsloo donning the line's familiar youthful and sexy collegiate style. Pink's target demographic, 18- to 22-year-olds, largely deviates from what has always been Victoria's Secret's bread and butter.

CEO Sharen Turney is looking to helm the self-proclaimed sexiest lingerie brand in the world back to its heritage.

"At the heart of Victoria's Secret is 'we are sexy.' And as you go through time, sexy changes. You can go back to the Tom Ford days and right now it's the return to glamour. So what is sexy now? The new sexy is glamourous. So it's about that evolution. It's about adding innovative fashion product and bringing more fashion into the lingerie area --narrower straps, younger kind of silouhettes, but that are sophisticated and elevated, romantic and glamourous. We recreated the entire sleepwear category, which we call loungerie, which has great silk boxers and tanks and things you can lounge in that any 26-year-old to 50-year-old would love to own," Turney said.

Not everything in the collection was meant to be lounged in. Many of the tiny-framed models walked the runway weighed down by large, elaborate body pieces in the form of wings, capes and even bows.

The audience only drew in its breath once as an Angel with a long, difficult-to-manuever cape was stopped in her tracks when it became caught on the side of the stage.

She not only managed to wrestle herself free without forcing a hair out of place, she also turned the pickle into a crowd-pleaser -- gaining thunderous applause as she seemlessly continued plodding her way down the runway. Whew.

Klum wrapped up the show wearing Intimissimi's Balconet ruffle bra and matching ruffle panty and topped off with a giant fuschia bow designed by Juliette Meurisse. Talk about the perfect gift ...

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show airs on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 10 p.m. on CBS.