Angel Reese becomes first pro athlete to star in Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
WNBA player Angel Reese became the first professional athlete to walk the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday. The lingerie brand—and self-proclaimed arbiter of sexuality in the 1990s—is overhauling its branding after years of business turmoil.
The 23-year-old Chicago Sky forward joins supermodels like Bella and Gigi Hadid and former “Angels” like Adriana Lima in a star-studded lineup that also includes transgender, pregnant, and plus-size models.
The diverse cast reflects the brand’s new approach to the annual extravaganza, which returns in 2024 after a six-year hiatus. Speaking backstage, Reese claimed she “realized this moment” while attending last year’s show.
“I posted on my (Instagram) story last year, sitting here in the front row watching the show. I said, ‘I’m going to be a Victoria’s Secret model one day,'” she said, adding: “I had no idea it would happen so soon.”
Once a major television event, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was often criticized for promoting outdated beauty standards, and before its cancellation in 2019, viewership had declined significantly (from 9.7 million in 2013 to 3.3 million in 2018). Popular in American malls thanks to products like the “Miracle” push-up bra, the lingerie giant was known for using primarily thin, white models in its promotional campaigns.
In contrast, Wednesday evening’s live-streamed runway opened with nine-month-pregnant model Jasmine Tookes, whose baby bump was clearly visible through a pearl-encrusted golden macramé dress and clamshell-shaped wings, which mirrored Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.”
Plus-size models Paloma Elsesser, Ashley Graham, and Yumi Nu also appeared, as well as Alex Consani, who (along with Valentina Sampaio) made history last year by becoming the first trans woman to walk the show. Meanwhile, Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee appeared in a “halftime show” for Pink, a Victoria’s Secret sub-brand that targets young women.
“Everyone looks different, but they’re all beautiful,” Reese told CNN while preparing before the show. “(That’s) the inclusivity of being a Victoria’s Secret model and knowing that you can look beautiful in many different colors, shapes, lengths, heights—tall, short—you can be here.”
Reese explained that her appearance was the result of a conversation with Victoria’s Secret CEO Hilary Super, who is charged with turning the label’s fortunes around. The athlete said, “She literally said to me… ‘You can be here. You’re an athlete, you have a great body and you look amazing, and you’re really confident.'”
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