The Angels Are Back

The Angels are back, and this time they brought the whole fantasy with them. On Sunday night at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned to Los Angeles for the first time since 2007, and it did not hold back. The Fantasy Bra came out of retirement, Bella Hadid opened, Adriana Lima closed, and Kylie Jenner turned out to be the surprise nobody had on their bingo card.

Creative director Adam Selman built the show as a journey through the seasons: a spring of desire, a high-heat summer, an autumn of corsets and lace wings, a winter of furs and silver, with a Vintage Victoria intermission of slip dresses and a Pink “halftime show” in between. “Each season is tied to an emotion or a feeling,” he said. It was, in his words, “not a heritage show”. It did, however, know exactly which buttons to press.

Bella Hadid opens in bloom

The first look set the tone for spring. Bella Hadid walked out in wings that grew behind her like a tree: green, vine-like branches covered in multicoloured flowers. Underneath, a floral balconette bra, matching lingerie and a sheer lime-green mini skirt. It was her sixth Victoria’s Secret show, after 2016, 2017, 2018, 2024 and 2025, and the first time she opened it.

For us it was the most beautiful moment of the night. Not the most expensive, not the most viral: the most beautiful. A girl in a garden, in neon green, opening the biggest lingerie show in the world. Stunning.

Kylie Jenner, Angel?

Nobody saw this one coming. Kylie Jenner, who had never walked a Victoria’s Secret runway, appeared in oversized white feathered wings, a sparkling silver bra with a matching mini skirt and clear heels. And the bra was not just any bra: it was the Fantasy Bra, back for the first time since 2018.

So, is Kylie an Angel? She is not a runway model, and she never pretended to be one. But the Angels were always about more than walking: they were about being the most talked-about woman in the room for eight seconds. On that measure, she nailed it. The question is what an Angel is supposed to be in 2026, and whether a beauty mogul in a $50 million bra is the answer.

“I wanted to create the most expensive Fantasy Bra ever made, but value alone was never enough,” Arabo said. For comparison, the last Fantasy Bra, in 2018, was valued at $1 million.

Front row: Timothée and Kris

If Kylie was the surprise on the runway, the best show in the audience was in the front row. Timothée Chalamet, her boyfriend, sat next to Kylie’s mother, Kris Jenner, and cheered loudly as she walked. Momager and boyfriend, side by side, both completely won over: honestly, the most relatable thing that happened all night. Nicole Kidman and Vanessa Bryant were in the front row too.

Barbara Palvin, six weeks later

Six weeks. That is how long it had been since Barbara Palvin gave birth to her first child with her husband, Dylan Sprouse. “I’m going to be six weeks postpartum tomorrow,” she told People the day before the show. According to Sprouse, she had also broken her foot four weeks earlier.

And yet. She walked twice: first in a Vintage Victoria balconette bra under a ruffled pink mini slip, then in a crystal-covered corset with a transparent train and sky-high wings. Fierce, glowing, completely in control. “I think it’s very empowering that the Victoria’s Secret team is having me at the show and we’re supporting women,” she said.

The sweetest part was in the front row. Sprouse stood up and cheered as she walked, then posted two words on Instagram: “Built different.” Before the show he had admitted to ET that watching her was “super nerve-wracking”: “Oh, please don’t fall.” And then: “I’m always immensely proud of her. She works really hard.” We should all be loved like that.

The new Angel

The open casting had its winner. Solange Omon, a 21-year-old Cameroonian model and the winner of the YouTube docuseries Angels Among Us, earned her wings and a contract with IMG Models. She debuted in a lace-trimmed look with tinsel-like gold wings and a sheer organza train. Natalia Bryant and Trinity Rodman also made their debuts, as part of the Pink class of 2026.

The cast

The line-up mixed the Angels who defined the brand with the faces of fashion right now: Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Gigi Hadid, Barbara Palvin, Elsa Hosk, Joan Smalls, Doutzen Kroes, Behati Prinsloo and Liu Wen, alongside Anok Yai, Alex Consani, Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser, Precious Lee, Imaan Hammam, Abby Champion and Devyn Garcia. The biggest comeback was Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, back on the runway after 16 years.

Official cast cards, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2026

The looks

Gigi Hadid went full nostalgia in blue-and-pink lingerie straight out of the early-2000s Angel era, with sequinned wings that caught the light like a disco ball and fringed at the edges. Tate McRae sang “Housewife” as she walked.

Candice Swanepoel was pure gold: a gleaming metallic look that made her look like a trophy, in the best way.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley marked her return in white lace lingerie under an oversized fur coat. Sixteen years away, zero rust.

Megan Thee Stallion did not just perform: she wore her own metallic silver wings.

Mathilda Gvarliani wore a mini dress peppered with snowballs, one of the most playful pieces of the night.

The wings

This year’s wings felt bigger and more whimsical than ever. Our favourites:

• Elsa HoskWings so wide they seemed to span the whole stage
• Anok YaiSome of the tallest wings of the night, with an all-white peplum bodysuit
• Precious LeeCrystal wings that looked like a chandelier
• Alex ConsaniSculptural metallic gold wings over a black lace corset
• Imaan HammamExtra-large apple-green sequinned wings
• Joan SmallsCurved cobalt-blue wings with a draped top
• Ashley GrahamPink and yellow floral wings with a bodysuit

The music

An all-female line-up, as promised. Country singer Megan Moroney was the first musical guest, performing a medley in fluffy baby-pink wings. Tate McRae sang “Sports Car” and “Housewife” in red lingerie with sheer details. Megan Thee Stallion performed her 2020 hit “Body” with the models walking alongside her. KATSEYE took over the Pink segment in Y2K charm belts hung with trinkets.

The performers of the night.

Adriana Lima closes

The last look belonged to an original Angel. Adriana Lima closed the show in a fringed white look and wings, at her 21st Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. She was the last model on the runway before everyone joined her on stage, and she paused with her hands over her heart, a moment that had fans wondering whether it was a goodbye. Then came the finale, to the Spice Girls’ “Say You’ll Be There”, under a storm of pink confetti.

It felt like a full circle. In 2018 Lima walked what was billed as her final show and left the runway in tears. Eight years later, she was the one bringing it home.

What the runway says about next season

• The peekaboo braSeen on Barbara Palvin, under a slip. Wear it under a sheer shirt or a slip dress, with everything else simple.
• The bra topSeen on Tate McRae. Try it with high-waisted trousers and an oversized blazer.
• Semi-sheer tightsAll over the runway. The easiest way in: with a mini skirt and loafers.
• The garter pencil skirtSeen on Nicole Kidman, in the front row. Office by day, Angel by night.
• The bombshell blowoutBackstage, by Guido Palau. Big rollers, a good spray, and patience.

Then and now

• Los AngelesThe show’s first time in the city since 2007
• The Fantasy BraBack after eight years: $1 million in 2018, an estimated $50 million in 2026
• Adriana LimaA tearful goodbye in 2018, a closing look in 2026

The Angels came back, and this time they came back as a question as much as a show: who gets to be one, and what it means now. We have our answer for Sunday night, at least. The wings are back, and we missed them. ✦

Sources: Victoria’s Secret · Marie Claire · Hello! · The Zoe Report · W Magazine · Just Jared (Kylie Jenner) · Just Jared (Barbara Palvin) · Glamsham · IBTimes · ET (2018)