Lights, Cameras, Angels.
The 2025 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show opened with Jasmine Tookes strutting down the runway — nine months pregnant. She’s not the only thing creating something new. Victoria’s Secret has been steadily flying up to their former glory since reviving their fashion show last year. Although the Angels are back on the runway, they have a ways to go until they are deified again.
Last year, Victoria’s Secret committed a cardinal sin — giving many of the models slicked-back hair. Thankfully, this year they’ve redeemed themselves, instead opting for swoopy bangs and blowouts. We definitely appreciate the switch, but the hair didn’t quite match the volume of the 2000s shows. The blowouts felt too flat, and we think they should’ve gone bigger and bouncier.
The lingerie component was better. We loved most of the pieces because they looked luxurious and extravagant, but some of the ‘lingerie’ pieces looked too gaudy. We hated the massive “VS” belts that a lot of models wore, we felt that the monogram cheapened the look. The incorporation of street styles did not work in their favor either, and the corsets looked comparable to ones on SHEIN. The boxy graphic tees with “very sexy” also felt tacky — we doubt anyone thinks Secret is a chaste brand.
On the topic of cheapness, PINK’s runway segment was demonically subpar. Most outfits looked haphazardly put together, mixing lounge wear with jeans, belts and coats. Most looks were sinfully bad, bringing to mind a middle-aged gym teacher. They should’ve stuck with the sporty lounge wear vibe all round and not have it mixed with street wear.
A component that felt equally as lackluster (at times) were the wings. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the wings were beautiful such as Bella Hadid’s, Awar Odhiang’s and Emily Ratajkowski’s. Others were short of a “wow” factor, and some fell flat completely. We despised the mini ‘wings’ they gave Quen Blackwell; they looked like something sold at Spirit Halloween. Gigi Hadid’s angel wings looked very awkward, so much so that we were in pain watching her strut down the runway in them. We also absolutely hated Stella Maxwell’s devil wings. The sequin patterns were too big and looked like a children’s costume piece — coupled with that cursed “very sexy” tee, it looked very cheugy.
As for the show business side of the show, Victoria’s Secret resurrection was fairly successful. Both Madison Beer and Twice performances — and their outfits — were heavenly. Both performances were placed perfectly in the show. Madison Beer, an artist synonymous with sensuality, was the first performer, while Twice, a cuter, younger Kpop group performed for the PINK segment. Other performers including Karol G and Missy Elliot also serenaded the runway beautifully.
But, the host of the show, Law Roach, sounded like he was being held at gunpoint and forced to do it. We don’t know what possessed him, but his energy and excitement felt extremely forced. Another detail we disliked was in the last third of the show, where Karol G performed. The word “Latina” continuously flashed in the background and on the runway floor, leaving me confused. Whatever that was, it was the weirdest form of representation in fashion I’ve ever seen. On top of that, we hated the fact that they made all the looks shoppable on Amazon. The Kingdom of Victoria’s Secret is built on exclusivity — their gates should only open to those fashionably qualified enough to associate themselves with angels.
However, our biggest issue was that the pantheon of famous 2000s angels were brought out — again. We’re sick and tired of seeing people old enough to be my parents strutting — or at least trying to — down the runway. While we too adore reminiscing on the glory of 90s and early 2000s Victoria’s Secret, we feel that seeing models like Adriana Lima on the runway at 44 ruins the idolized image of them I have in my memory. While they all look amazing for their age, the brand’s target demographic is younger women, with PINK specifically being targeted at high school and college aged girls, so their runway should reflect that. It’s time to pass the torch – if you want to revive a brand, you need fresh faces. While the entire show wasn’t only dedicated to old models, the show focused and featured them disproportionately. We think it’s time to create a new phenomenon. Surely out of the millions of girls dying for a chance to be an angel, at least one has sufficient potential to replace these models who should be enjoying retirement.
Regarding the models’ walks, way too many of them looked like they were about to fall over. While some models like Amelia Grey and Yasmine Wijnaldum blessed the runway with catwalks, the same can’t be said for at least half the other models. We’re not sure if it was the models’ age or some other invisible factor, but those walks made me fear for the models’ ankles and ruined the halo effect the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is meant to have. But, at least they brought back the iconic Mika Scheneider, who went viral last year for giving serious RBF on the runway.
Overall, Victoria’s Secret has made huge strides from their former disgrace and improved substantially from their show last year. However, they have a ways to go before St. Peter will let them back into fashion heaven.
