The Victoria’s Secret runway show returned after a six-year hiatus tonight, and you couldn’t swing a Campari Red Push Up Shine Strap Bra without hitting a supermodel. After a fashion month that was comparatively light on blockbuster casting moments, the marquee names just kept on coming at Brooklyn Navy Yard: the Hadid sisters, Anok Yai, Imaan Hammam and He Cong repped the current crop of It-girls, while OG Angels including Alessandra Ambrosio, Doutzen Kroes and Behati Prinsloo strapped on their wings once more.
The most unexpected casting coup? None other than Kate Moss, who made her debut on the Victoria’s Secret runway tonight at the age of 50. She was joined by Carla Bruni (56), Tyra Banks (50), and Eva Herzigova (51), as the lingerie brand endeavours to make good on its pledge to present a more diverse and inclusive vision. Evidently, it’s a welcome shift: some of the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for Paloma Elsesser – still one of only a handful of curve models who are mainstays on the Fashion Week runway – Ashley Graham, and the trans model Alex Consani.
In this respect, the show looked different. In others, it was the same sequined, confetti-strewn spectacle fans will remember from its heyday. If the high-octane opening performance from Lisa – who emerged draped over a motorcycle and launched into her hit “Rockstar” – hadn’t made that plain, then the arrival of Gigi Hadid – a vision in a pink satin teddy, heels with straps that snaked their way to mid-calf, and a truly gigantic pair of mechanically operated pink wings – certainly did. The 29-year-old kicked things off by winking and blowing a kiss to the audience (including Cardi B and Phoebe Dynevor on the front row) before setting off down the runway.
After that, it was a conveyor belt of major models (Joan Smalls, Irina Shayk, Lila Moss) that – combined with the musical guests – put the audience at real risk of whiplash. The brand had pulled out all the stops to make a splash with this comeback: ferrying showgoers fuelled by mini bottles of Moet and scoops of Tyra’s own Smize & Dream ice cream to Brooklyn on a Victoria’s Secret-branded boat at golden hour, and tapping not one but three major artists (Lisa was followed by Tyla and later, the icon herself, Cher) to perform during the show. Even the Empire State Building was lit up in the lingerie label’s signature pink.
“It’s a beautiful moment,” said a beaming Jill Kortleve backstage on the morning of the show. “It’s amazing to be here to celebrate all different body types.” It was a sentiment shared by Paloma, who said the brand’s efforts to speak to a broader audience are “absolutely authentic”. “This feels like an amazing moment of [celebrating] different women, who are in different stages of their lives, with different bodies,” she said.
“I never really watched the Victoria’s Secret runway shows,” said their fellow newcomer, Ashley Graham, a few make-up chairs over. “As we all know, it never really catered towards women that were my size. “Now it feels like a new Victoria’s Secret – it’s had a breath of fresh air. Back here, I’m seeing girls that look like me… and what’s even better, girls that look so different from me. That’s the beauty of the fashion industry today.”
