By: Anastasia Gigauri
After popular lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret (VS) cancelled its annual fashion show in November 2019, due to low views and controversial messages from the company’s CMO, the brand made a major comeback in 2024. This year, the 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took over New York City with even more anticipation.
The brand, once criticized for promoting unrealistic body ideals, has shifted its focus to including more of a diverse cast of realistic body images, letting viewers know that their clothing is for all. VS disrupted their old image but kept all the iconic details, showing everyone that the fashion-forward company has stepped into a new iconic era.
Since 1995, Victoria’s Secret has been known for its bombshell blowouts, glitter-covered runways, sparkly, multi-million dollar bras, and supermodels wearing luscious angel wings. In recent years, Victoria’s Secret has gone through a huge transformation. When the runway show made a comeback in 2024, many people were disappointed and missed the bombshell vibe that made VS iconic. The slicked-back hairstyles, no-makeup makeup looks, and lack of sparkle just didn’t feel like the show that everyone loved. Seeing the models without the signature looks made the show feel empty for most of the fans. But this year, the brand listened.
The 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show had the theme of “Reawakening”, which symbolized the brand’s rebirth after years of controversy and rebranding.
“Sexy is not one single thing. It means different things to different women. We’re here to inspire you, not to tell you what sexy looks like. We’re an entertainment brand. We’re painting an aspirational world,” said Hillary Super, CEO of Victoria’s Secret, according to Designrush.
Models walked the runway with fresh versions of the bombshell blowout. The stage design was different too; instead of the usual glitter runway, this year’s was made entirely of black glass, surrounded by stunning lights and special effects that gave the show a new look. However, some fans still wished for the glittery runways; they also hoped to see the unique themes that VS used to have.
The model lineup for the show was different from past years. While the show still featured iconic VS angels such as Adriana Lima, sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid, Candice Swanepoel, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Irina Shayk, it also welcomed newcomer models in the form of Olympic athletes and influencers. The array of models of different gender identities, body types, and ethnic backgrounds made the runway more inclusive than ever. Traditionally, VS is known for tall and very thin models, but this year the runway celebrated diversity in every form.
In a surprising development, the 2025 VS Show stood in stark contrast to dozens of recent fashion shows in New York, Milan, and Paris, where representation of mid- and plus-size models reached all-time lows.
According to the Vogue Business semi-annual size inclusion study, only 0.9% of the 9,038 models walking were plus-size, and just 2% were mid-size. Victoria’s Secret featured multiple mid- and plus-size models on the runway, highlighting the brand’s commitment to size diversity. Plus-size and mid-size models like Paloma Elsesser, Ashley Graham, Devyn Garcia, Emeline Hoareau, Precious Lee, Barbie Ferreira, and Ashlyn Erickson walked the runway, proving that confidence and style come from every size.
Photo: Getty Images
Jasmine Tookes, who is currently expecting her second child, opened the show in a beautiful pearl-embellished slip dress, with a matching pearl shell in place of wings. Inclusion was furthermore a theme of the night as transgender model Alex Consani walked the runway, and influencer and model Quen Blackwell became a VS angel.
As always, the show featured live musical performances that added a whole new level of energy to the runway.
Pop singer Madison Beer, K-pop group TWICE, accomplished Latin singer Karol G, and the legendary Missy Elliott all performed in stunning outfits, each one of them bringing a very different vibe to the show. Fans loved Madison Beer and Karol G; their vocals were smooth, and their stage presence matched the glamorous, sexy energy of the runway. Many said that they fitted the vibe perfectly and made the show even more exciting.
Missy Elliott, however, divided opinions. Some people thought her performance felt random and didn’t quite match the runway’s aesthetic. Others argued that she’s a legend and that having the models walk during her performance would have been iconic.
As for TWICE, reactions were mostly negative. Fans criticized the group for off-key vocals and uneven live singing. Although the performance was lacking, the bra that Tzuyu was wearing sold out after she performed.
After receiving criticism last year for slicked-back hairstyles and “clean girl” makeup, this year Victoria’s Secret brought back the iconic bombshell look, but with a modern twist.
Photo: Getty images
Celebrity hairstylist Jawara Wauchope and legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath led the beauty team, creating looks that were glamorous and uniquely created for each model. “We wanted to bring back the sexy blowout but modernize it; we’re doing a sleek gloss with a little bit of volume,” Wauchope said. The team worked on all models, from newcomers like Suni Lee and Angel Reese, and original faces of VS like Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima, giving everyone soft, bouncy blowouts that were playful and flirty.
Overall, people really liked this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show; it was definitely a major step up from last year. But even though the reactions were mostly positive, the internet still had plenty of hot takes and debates. Some fans said this year’s show was exactly what they wanted: glamorous, sexy, full of confidence, and everything they missed from the old Victoria’s Secret days. Others said they didn’t like seeing too many different body types, arguing that the show should’ve focused only on the traditional supermodel look. On the other hand, many praised the brand for finally being inclusive and showing that every woman can be sexy, no matter her shape, size, or background.
Victoria’s Secret learned from its past mistakes, and that’s why this year’s show was a big success. The brand included everyone, people with different body types, shapes, sizes, and girls from different cultures and ethnicities. They showed that their clothing is made for everyone. Every woman, no matter what her body looks like, deserves to feel like a real angel whenever she wears something from Victoria’s Secret.