Likely the world's most expensive brassiere produced this year, the Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra is the highlight of the brand's annual fashion show, which kicks off its holiday selling season on Nov. 13. This year's bra and belt are handset in 18-karat gold and feature a 52-carat, pear-shaped center ruby plus more than 4,200 precious gems, including diamonds and yellow sapphires.
Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel will be given the honor of modeling the bra at its public unveiling.
The undergarment's eye-popping price tag is the most expensive since 2005. Prices for the retailer's Fantasy Bras plunged during the recession and were a mere fraction of those created during the early 2000s, which begs the question: Is the Fantasy Bra an indicator of economic or market trends?
Interestingly, prices of the Fantasy Bra tracked the S&P 500 higher and lower from 1996 to 2005 (with the exception of 2003) and again in 2009 and 2013. So market watchers may want to debate its merits along with those of the "hemline theory" attributed to Wharton economist George Taylor in the 1920s. (Under that theory, women wear shorter skirts during good times, and longer ones during bad ones.)
Before the bra hits the runway, CNBC reached out to Victoria's Secret to go behind the bra and find some interesting tidbits about this year's megamillions undergarment.
