Victoria's Secret "Angels" Return to the Runway After Six-Year Break
After a six-year break, the Victoria's Secret ‘angels’ shone again at the grand Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2024 in New York, writes Vogue.
The famous ‘angels’ appeared on the catwalk: Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes and Taylor Hill. The girls spread their wings again, dressed in sexy lingerie sets.
This event was also the first walk down the Victoria's Secret runway for Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, who became the first transgender model to represent the brand in 2019. A second transgender model, Alex Consani, also walked the runway as the lingerie brand expanded its efforts to be more inclusive.
Since the 90s, millions have strongly associated the Victoria's Secret brand with iconic runway shows, diamond Fantasy Bra and sexy ‘angels’ with perfect tanned forms. There were ups and downs for the brand. A large-scale scandal in 2018 and numerous devastating articles led to a long break and the show's decline.
Victoria's Secret collapsed in 2019, when the media fervently covered the then-owner Leslie Wexner's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. This followed an outcry over controversial comments made by former CEO Ed Razek in an infamous 2018 interview with Vogue. VS cancelled the show, which had already been steadily declining in ratings as consumers questioned its (and the brand's) relevance in a changing industry (at the time, VS remained a staunch supporter of ultra-thin, predominantly white models). The show remained on hold until last year.
In May of this year, after a desperate attempt to transform the brand, the lingerie brand announced the return of its ‘angels’. This happened three years after the scandalous failed rebranding towards body positivity in 2021.
