From familiar faces and elaborate wings to a $50 million Fantasy Bra, the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show revisits the spectacle that made it iconic — while bringing a new generation into the spotlight.
On 18 October, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned to Los Angeles, transforming Sony Pictures Studios into a runway where lingerie, live music and theatrical fashion once again shared the same stage. The Angels were back, but the show was not simply an attempt to recreate the past. Under executive creative director Adam Selman, familiar Victoria’s Secret signatures met a new generation of models, a soundtrack led entirely by female performers and a runway built around the changing seasons.
There were flowers, feathers, glitter and wings — the ingredients that have long defined the brand’s visual language. But the appeal of the show lies in more than the clothes themselves. It is the moment when fashion becomes entertainment, models become part of pop culture, and a single runway appearance can revive a story that audiences have followed for years.
A runway with its own soundtrack
This time around, music wasn’t just filler noise to keep the models walking in time; it drove the entire emotional arc of the night. Selman curated a lineup—Megan Moroney, Tate McRae, KATSEYE, and Megan Thee Stallion—that let each artist highjack the runway and stamp their own subculture onto the clothes.
Megan Moroney kicked things off with “6 Months Later” and “Wish I Didn’t”, looking surreal in oversized pink wings, a cinched glittering corset, and silver heels. Her country-pop vibe brought a weirdly brilliant, almost camp theatricality to the LA night.
Then came Tate McRae, dropping her single “Housewife” in a sharp, lingerie-inspired red look that practically weaponized the runway. Flanked by dancers, she tore through “Dear God” and “Sports Car.” McRae is exactly what modern pop needs: an artist whose performance relies entirely on raw choreography and kinetic movement, making her a perfect fit for a show built on visual impact.
The PINK segment got a massive dose of textbook Gen-Z energy courtesy of KATSEYE. Blasting “Pinky Up” and “Animal” in hyper-saturated corset tops and microscopic mini skirts, their polished pop-group aesthetic slid effortlessly into the younger, louder corner of the VS universe.
Finally, Megan Thee Stallion shut the whole thing down. Performing “Her” and “Body,” she owned the room in metallic wings and a futuristic, liquid-silver silhouette. By the end, the show had effortlessly skipped through four entirely different lifetimes: country glamour, heavy dance-pop, glossy girl-group styling, and full-throttle hip-hop spectacle.
The Angels who never really left
Half the internet was holding its breath for the casting, and for good reason. The runway saw the return of names that are practically hardwired into the brand’s history: Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes, Elsa Hosk, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
For some, the comeback felt heavy with history. Huntington-Whiteley, who first stepped onto a VS runway way back in 2006, hadn’t worn the wings since 2010. Her appearance after a 16-year hiatus was a subtle reminder that a model’s relationship with a brand can run way deeper than a single-season contract.
Meanwhile, Alessandra Ambrosio logged her 20th Victoria’s Secret show. Let that number sink in. It’s proof that a runway walk can evolve into a lifelong epic, changing right alongside the woman wearing the look and the culture watching her grow.
Then there was Ming Xi, delivering a pure hit of mid-2010s nostalgia. She first showed up in 2013—back when Taylor Swift was singing “I Knew You Were Trouble”—and became a fixture until 2018. Stepping back onto the stage in 2026, she looked completely untouchable, a living bridge to the show’s golden era.
But if you want to see where the culture is actually heading, look at Alex Consani. Returning for her third consecutive year, she smashed through the runway first in a dramatic, sweeping pink cape, followed by an insane mix of black lace and golden feathered wings. Consani is the blueprint for modern casting: she’s not just a blank canvas for clothes, she’s a massive personality feeding the internet’s current obsession with raw, online subcultures.
A new chapter for the next generation
The fresh blood on the runway didn’t disappoint either Solange Omon—who literally won her wings on the brand’s Angels Among Us reality search—made her debut in a spectacular monochrome lace look, complete with gilded wings and a massive flowing cape that brought all the old-school drama people crave.
The rest of the new guard—Natalia Bryant, Honey Ordoñez, and Trinity Rodman—proved that VS is widening the lens. And then, of course, there was Kylie Jenner’s runway debut, easily one of the most screenshotted moments of the night. By pulling from sports, Hollywood, and TikTok royalty, the show stopped being just about traditional modeling and became a mirror for how fame works right now.
Barbara Palvin’s walk added a much deeper layer to the conversation. She hit the runway just six weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Sylvie. Behind the scenes, Palvin was open about her approach, talking about fueling her body with real nutrients for breastfeeding, letting herself heal, and swapping brutal workout regimes for gentle recovery. It was a massive talking point, but it’s crucial to look past the fantasy. Postpartum recovery is deeply personal, and a flawless two-minute runway walk is just a highly curated snapshot—not a manual for real-world expectations. What made the 2026 casting actually work was this messy, fascinating mix of timelines: decades-long careers, massive comebacks, raw debuts, and real-life milestones happening simultaneously. The ‘Angel’ archetype isn’t a fixed, plastic ideal anymore; it’s a shifting collective of women with completely different stories to tell.
From playful pink to golden glamour
Visually, Selman refused to commit to just one basic definition of femininity. Instead, he mapped the collection across the seasons—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and a double dose of Winter—with PINK squeezed neatly in the middle. It gave the clothes a cinematic, evolving mood. Spring was all about heavy floral romanticism, but it wasn’t delicate. Massive, structural petals and overgrown foliage essentially turned the models’ bodies into living, breathing set pieces. PINK shifted gears instantly, leaning hard into Y2K-coded styling: crystal-encrusted low-rise trousers, loud graphics, heavy branding, and sharp, cropped silhouettes tailored for the modern pop landscape.
As the seasons turned, the color palette melted into heavy metallic golds, sun-bleached sands, and rich nude tones. Intricate lace and sheer panelling brought a quiet, sophisticated kind of luxury, before the final segments dipped into a moody, late-night aesthetic. Every crystal and sequin was engineered to catch the strobe lights, making sure even the most stripped-back silhouettes felt massive under the arena lights.
And the wings? They were the ultimate exclamation point. They swung from classic, cloud-like feathers to brutalist, sculptural structures that looked heavy enough to ground a plane. They made the models look superhuman, leaning straight into the camp, beautiful absurdity of the event. This wasn’t lingerie meant for a drawer; this was wearable theatre made to be seen from the back row, in motion, under a million dollars worth of spotlights.
There was a hit for every single version of the Victoria’s Secret fantasy: playful pink, romantic florals, heavy gold luxury, and that effortlessly cool, understated nude finish.
Image credits: Victoria’s Secret Press Room
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