Victoria’s Secret Wing Man Designing for NASA
Photos: Getty Images
Gravity defying: Ted Southern, Victoria’s Secret wings designer, has been commissioned by NASA.
If you think the lavish wings the Victoria’s Secret Angels wear on the runway are out of this world, just wait until you hear about designer Ted Southern’s next project: The Brooklyn-based craftsman is now fashioning gloves for NASA.
“It’s a funny transition to go from costumes to spacesuits, but it kind of makes sense to me,” he told the New York Post.
So what led Southern to put aside the fancy feathers and try his hand at cosmic couture?
In 2009, he entered a contest in which competitors were asked to redesign astronaut gloves.
“Hands are really critical in space, and the gloves were consistently a weak point,” he told the paper. “You need more flexibility and more torque.”
Southern took second place, earning $100,000, and things skyrocketed from there: He scored a NASA contract, and, along with partner Nikolay Moiseev, set out to perfect his intergalactic accessories.
“Every now and again, I realize I’m talking to people in Houston who deal with spacewalks,” said Southern, who is also creating full suits for commercial space travel. “It’s heady.”
Not half as heady as working with former Angel Heidi Klum, an experience Southern describes as heavenly.
“Heidi is by far the best and easiest model to work with,” he told the Post. “She’s so animated and fun to be around. She’s friendly to everyone.”
Photo: Getty Images
Ted Southern will redesign gloves for NASA astronauts.
