Editor: Layal Aziz
It’s that time of year again: the weather getting colder, classes getting more intense, Thanksgiving in the rearview, Halloween around the corner and everyone’s favourite fashion show right in the centre. Welcome back to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, 2026 Edition.
This year marked the brands 31st fashion show. Starting in 1995, the fashion show is highly recognizable and very popular. The brand stepped away from the fashion show scene due to criticism about their lack of inclusivity on the runway and the questionable actions and corporate ties of the brands founder, Lex Wexner.
Though the show’s hiatus was justified, that did not stop people from awaiting its return. The show has been culturally impactful since its inception. It has started fashion trends, set beauty standards and changed the way that clothes were marketed to women.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show gave women a space to see other women look beautiful and feel confident wearing clothes that would normally not be modelled on runways and not have it be sexualized. The show has always been geared towards women, being both a source of freedom or unshakeable pressure to look perfect. It’s had its positives and negatives, no different than today but, the impact that it has had on fashion and pop culture is undeniable.
Models Now vs Models Then
With over 50 models featured in the fashion show, there was a lot more diversity than we’d seen from Victoria’s Secret in the past. The youngest and oldest models had an age gap of 26 years with the youngest model being 19 and the oldest being 45. The average age of an Angel this year was 28.7 years old, over 5 years older than the average age in 1995, the fashion show’s debut year. And with a higher age average, there was also an above average amount of mothers represented in the show this year.
17 Angels this year are mothers with some having had a child within this last year- notably, Barbara Palvin had her daughter one day shy of 6 weeks before she walked the show.
The show was also more culturally diverse than past years with 23 countries and 2 French colonies (Réunion and Guadeloupe) being represented. Having models that are representing many different types of beauty is so important, especially because of the cultural relevance that the fashion show once had and is now regaining.
stereotypical tall, blonde model from the 2000s cannot be the standard of beauty forever. It’s a dated ideology that ignores the beauty found in any race and ethnic background. Seeing models who looked different from one another on the same stage is what fashion should be about.
Body types that had been excluded from past shows and modelling in general were showcased; though not every body type is being represented, it is a major improvement from what it was. We are slowly moving away from 35-25-35 (a common measurement standard for models). Curvier models being represented no longer feel envelope-pushing as it is just more of an accurate representation of women in the world. The shows past with underfed models to maintain extreme thinness seems a thing of the past. Models looked healthy, happy, and strong with many toned and muscular models taking the forefront as well.
The show also features trans-model Alex Consani who has modeled since the brands hiatus. Victoria’s Secret faced a lot of backlash for adding a trans woman to the cast of models. This should never be a cause for concern or discussion. Victoria’s Secret should be a show for all women to be represented. Hopefully, her participation can be the catalyst to more trans-models being added to the show.
Overall, the fashion show did get a lot of things right when it came to the models that they enlisted—there are improvements to be made still when it comes to representation but at least the brand is going in the right direction in some ways.
With how much buzz surrounds the show online every year, the more diversity and inclusion that is incorporated into the show, the more that diversity and inclusion in fashion and beauty becomes normalized. It meant a lot to many people to see that sexiness is no longer exclusive to one group of people but can be seen throughout so many women. Though there were positives with the models, there have been things that the brand has been criticized for since the show.
Some Things Never Change
Lets start with the big ticket item, the Fantasy Bra. For those who don’t know what the Fantasy Bra is, let me give a brief explanation: the Fantasy Bra is a bra bejewelled with diamonds, worn during the fashion show that is not sold by the brand, becoming this haute couture piece. This year’s Fantasy Bra, worn by Kylie Jenner (to many peoples dismay) was worth over $50 million, was valued at 1.4k carat and weighed 4lbs. For reference, according to theknot.com, the average engagement ring size is around 1.7 carats. This year’s Fantasy Bra was the most expensive one the brand has ever made by over $30 million.
This caused a lot of uproar, and I can’t say I disagree with people’s concerns. There is no way that those diamonds were procured ethically and with the state of the economy, boasting around an undergarment that is worth that much while people are living paycheck to paycheck is in poor taste. The fact that it was also worn by a millionaire is also not lost on the public.
In a time of extreme economic uncertainty, high unemployment rates and an absurdly high cost of living, the Fantasy Bra being this expensive highlighted an extreme level of privilege that some are offered in the world. It’s not confirmed that the miners who sourced the diamonds were paid well for their efforts, its doubtful that they were. The Fantasy Bra left a bad taste in people’s mouths because of how tone deaf it feels to use that level of access to wealth and riches and not do something meaningful or positive with it.
Overall, the show was good when you forget the world around you. Sure, things are better in some areas, areas that in the past have been very problematic, but it could be better. At the end of the day, this is a show run by a brand to sell you a dream and a product and guess what? It works.
I would love to be a VS Angel and I’m sure other people would too. But don’t look at only the positives or only the negatives when analyzing something so highly broadcasted like this because then you are missing how an avenue in which people can be personally impacted.
Did I like the show? Of course! I thought it was fun and I feel like we are getting back to the camp and charisma of the old shows. Do I believe this is the thing that the world needs right now? Not even close. The world would be much better off if that $50 million was donated to people in need.