Victoria’s Secret (VS) held its annual show in New York City after spending two years overseas in Paris (2016) and Shanghai (2017). The night marked the retirement of one their most famous Victoria’s Secret Angels, Adriana Lima. The supermodel wore her wings for the last time and was bid a farewell with an emotional tribute.
The tribute to Lima featured a video montage of clips from her past iconic VS’s moments. The video ended with a “Thank You” message to her before the catwalk darkened and she graced the runway. The crowd cheered for the supermodel as she walked in her 19th and final VS show.
The Hadid sisters Gigi and Bella, Kendall Jenner, Lima, Elsa Hosk, Candice Swanepoel, Jasmine Tookes and Behati Prinsloo returned to the Victoria’s Secret runway now seen as veterans. Hosk was chosen to wear a showstopping diamond-encrusted Fantasy Bra, worth $1 million. Jenner and Bella had signature wings of course but Gigi Hadid was tapped to wear a parachute down the runway. The parachute was one of the creative and new ideas VS pulled out during the shows. As always, the show recruited a ton of new faces. Over 15 newcomers made their Victoria’s Secret debut, including the likes of Winnie Harlow, who is known for her beautifully symmetrical vitiligo.
As usual, VS always provides a lineup of musicians to liven up the show even more. With acts such as Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, and Taylor Swift in the past, the star power was not what it has been. This year, Shawn Mendes, The Chainsmokers, Halsey, Kelsea Ballerini, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Leela James and The Struts were on the lineup as performers. Their star power was lacking in comparison to lineups in the past decade.
VS is now in comparison to new lingerie brand Savage x Fenty by Rihanna. Savage x Fenty was praised after it’s debut fashion show, which closed out New York Fashion Week with a diverse cast of women of all shapes, colors and sizes. Victoria’s Secret still hasn’t moved past casting thin models and only began including more minorities just last year. The show has billed itself as being one of the most competitive castings in the industry for the past 23 years of the show’s existence.
“The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Holiday Special” airs Sunday, Dec. 2 (10 EDT/PDT) on ABC.