When Victoria’s Secret announced the lineup for its 2025 Fashion Show, everyone expected a total comeback moment. Instead, it became another reminder of how obsessed people are with controlling what women’s bodies should look like.
The Angel, Angel Reese
One of the first names revealed was Angel Reese, WNBA player for the Chicago Sky, and she looked amazing. This was her modeling debut, and she became the first professional athlete to walk in the show. But instead of celebrating her, people started tearing her apart online.
I saw comments saying her body was “too attainable,” that Victoria’s Secret “isn’t the same anymore,” and that the brand had “lost its bombshells.” Which honestly makes no sense. Angel Reese is 6’3” and a professional athlete, the average woman in America is 5’3.5”! Reese is 1 foot taller than the average woman in the country. How is that “attainable”?
It feels like people just don’t know how to handle women who look powerful and act like it. For years, VS sold the idea that being beautiful meant being delicate, soft, and perfectly airbrushed. Angel Reese flipped that narrative the second she stepped on stage.
The “Too Inclusive” Argument
Then the rest of the lineup dropped, and people online really started talking. This year’s show featured women like:
- Ashley Graham, a longtime advocate for body positivity.
- Paloma Elsesser, who has become a major voice in curve modeling.
- Precious Lee, known for her confidence and unapologetic energy on the runway.
- Alex Cosani, one of the trans models walking this year, whose presence continues to make history.
Instead of being celebrated, these women were met with more criticism. I saw people saying things like, “This isn’t Victoria’s Secret anymore,” or “The brand went too far trying to be inclusive.”
Here’s the thing: over 60 percent of women in the U.S. wear a size 14 or higher, according to the CDC. So when people say the new models “don’t fit the brand,” what they really mean is that the brand is finally starting to reflect real women, and that makes them uncomfortable.
It’s just funny how people keep saying they want “representation,” but the second they actually see it, it becomes “too much.” I think that says a lot more about how we’ve been conditioned to view beauty than it does about Victoria’s Secret.
It’s Just a Store in the Mall
At the end of the day, Victoria’s Secret is a store. It’s lingerie, it’s perfume, it’s pink shopping bags, not a moral compass. But people talk about it like it sets the rules for what’s beautiful and what isn’t.
Growing up, I remember walking through the mall and seeing those Victoria’s Secret posters. The models always looked so far from reality that it felt almost fictional. Back then, the fantasy was the point. But now, the brand is trying to make space for different types of women, and people are acting like it’s the end of an era. It makes me wonder: why are we so attached to one version of beauty that we can’t make room for another?
My Take
Personally, I love that Angel Reese and others like her are part of this new direction. Seeing a woman who’s athletic, confident, and outspoken on that runway feels refreshing. It reminds me that beauty doesn’t have to look one way; it can look like strength, height, curves, scars, or anything in between.
I think this whole conversation shows how deep our beauty conditioning goes. The idea that women’s bodies need to exist for other people’s approval is exhausting. Every time a brand tries to shift toward inclusion, people act like it’s political instead of normal.
For me, inclusivity in fashion isn’t about erasing the old “angel” image. It’s about expanding it. There’s room for the iconic, glamorous aesthetic and the realistic one. The problem isn’t that Victoria’s Secret changed; it’s that people don’t want to let go of an idea that was never meant to include most of us in the first place.
Angel Reese said in an interview, “Everybody looks different, but they’re all beautiful.” That’s it. That’s the whole point.
The brand is trying to evolve, but we’re still debating whether a model looks “Victoria’s Secret enough.” Maybe the real question isn’t who belongs on the runway, and maybe it’s why we keep letting the runway define what beauty should look like at all.