The Fantasy Bra is back, the wings are enormous, and the casting has everyone talking. A little romance, a little excess, and a few things I would change.
I am very easily persuaded by a beautiful bra, a ridiculous pair of wings and hair with its own wind machine. Naturally, I spent half the show wondering where my invitation to walk had got to. Victoria’s Secret understands the appeal of dressing for an evening that exists mainly in your imagination.
For its 2026 show, held in Los Angeles on 18 October, the brand built its fantasy around the seasons, with a PINK chapter in the middle. Reuters reports that Adam Selman’s plan included spring, summer, autumn and two winter sections. Apparently one winter was insufficiently dramatic. I respect the ambition.
A show so attached to its own history has a tricky job: to make the familiar feel exciting again. For me, the strongest moments came when the design gave a woman a silhouette of her own: a flower that almost swallowed the body, corsetry framed by trailing blooms, wings that changed the scale of an entrance. I love the glamour. The clothes should be just as memorable as the women wearing them.
Flowers, frills and a very good reason to zoom in
Bella Hadid opened in lime green, beaded flowers and vine-like wings, as detailed by Harper’s Bazaar. The green made the florals feel lively and slightly strange: the prettiness of a garden with enough sharpness to avoid looking like a tasteful table arrangement. This was the spring idea at its most convincing, with colour and texture doing as much as the wings.
Anok Yai’s enormous pink flower was one of my favourite looks. The layers of petals gathered around her shoulders made the silhouette almost circular, with her legs providing one long, clean line beneath it. That contrast gave all the pink frills a striking clarity. I loved how completely it committed to the flower: the shape was extravagant enough to hold its own even in a show full of wings.
Paloma Elsesser’s pink corsetry and Alex Consani’s voluminous, rose-like sleeves showed how much variety that floral idea could accommodate. Paloma’s fitted bodice gave the trailing flowers a firm centre; Alex’s sleeves gathered the volume around her arms, while the darker green hem gave all that pink a little bite. The pleasure was in their different proportions. Each look had a character beyond the shared palette.
Gigi Hadid’s blue-and-pink look took things somewhere more disco. Bazaar’s close-up coverage shows layered lace, silver heels and oversized silver sequins on her wings. The colours were sweet; the reflective surfaces gave them energy. Several details talking over each other, perhaps, but all going to the same party.
And then there are the wings
Bella Hadid’s white pleated wings were one of the clearest examples of what scale can do. Two enormous arches rose above her shoulders before falling almost to the floor, with light passing through the folds. Against that spread of white, the short dress kept the centre of the look clean. I loved the contrast between the expanse of the wings and the small, simple silhouette beneath them.
Gigi Hadid’s white pair made a sharper impression. Long, pointed strands swept upwards and outwards, with embellishment picking out their edges. The height drew the eye up from the lace and jewellery, giving the whole look a sense of lift. Where Bella’s wings draped, Gigi’s seemed to flare.
This is the excess I want from Victoria’s Secret. The wings make the silhouette taller, wider, almost architectural. Bella’s folds and Gigi’s upward sweep gave two white looks entirely different characters; I could picture both after moving on to the next photograph.
The $50 million bra in the room
The Fantasy Bra returned to the runway for the first time since 2018. Victoria’s Secret’s account of its construction explains how Jacob & Co. developed articulated metal structures intended to move with the body. That is the part I find fascinating: something made from precious metal and stones still has to follow a person in motion.
Kylie Jenner wore the result. Vogue reports a $50 million valuation, 4,410 natural diamonds, a central 75.54-carat yellow diamond and more than 1,000 hours of work by 15 craftspeople. My lingerie drawer has declined to comment.
I can admire the workmanship and still have questions about the casting. I would happily have seen Kylie in another look. For the Fantasy Bra, though, I wanted a model whose relationship with Victoria’s Secret had been built over years of working with the brand.
The reveal could have felt like a career milestone, recognising a model’s work and place in the show’s history. After so many looks had made their own impression, I wanted this moment to deepen that fashion story. Still, what a way to make a debut. A first Victoria’s Secret walk in the Fantasy Bra is an entrance few could match.
Familiar faces, new stories
The casting debate began before the show. Vanity Fair reported Romee Strijd’s disappointment over how she learned she had not been cast; Victoria’s Secret said it had formally informed her representatives on 6 September. The disagreement concerns how the news was communicated, as well as the decision itself. A brand can change its cast and still owe the women it has worked with clear, considerate communication.
I understand why fans miss particular models. A familiar walk, a certain energy, years of memorable looks: those attachments are part of the show’s appeal. An absence can change how it feels to watch.
But missing a favourite model does not mean a broader cast has made the show less glamorous. The varied silhouettes already offered a more interesting possibility: women commanding attention in looks with a character of their own. Give each woman that level of consideration, and there is room for familiar faces and someone we might fall in love with for the first time.
Runway modelling is a skill: a walk gives fabric movement, a silhouette rhythm and an outfit its attitude. That is what I want the casting to serve. A famous name can attract an audience; a model can make a look live in the imagination.
That is why Solange Omon’s debut interests me. The winner of the brand’s Angels Among Us casting series arrived with a story viewers could follow, as W reports. Here was an introduction built into the show itself. A new face can carry the fantasy; the brand has the means to give us a reason to care.
The clothes made the case
The flower silhouettes and those immense white wings made this a show I wanted to look at again. There is real confidence in taking something as small as lingerie and building a whole character around it. That is the Victoria’s Secret I respond to: extravagant, specific and willing to let different women occupy the fantasy.
My reservation about the Fantasy Bra comes from that enthusiasm. The show has enough visual imagination to make its own stars and enough history to give their achievements meaning. A famous guest is exciting, but so is watching a model become a star.
The clothes are already giving us something to talk about. I want the show to trust them.
The runway photo set
Six looks and moments to revisit. Select a photograph to see it in more detail.
Sources & image credits
Reporting checked on 19 October 2026. This commentary draws on the reporting and runway photographs linked below. The assessments of design, styling and casting are the author’s opinions; reported audience reaction is not treated as a representative poll.
- Reuters — show report
- Victoria’s Secret — Fantasy Bra construction and history
- Vogue — Kylie Jenner and the Fantasy Bra
- ELLE — Adam Selman interview and show review
- Vanity Fair — casting dispute and brand response
- Harper’s Bazaar — Bella Hadid’s opening look
- Harper’s Bazaar — Gigi Hadid’s runway looks
- Harper’s Bazaar — backstage hair and makeup
- Harper’s Bazaar — runway photo gallery
- Victoria’s Secret — show hub and casting updates
Photo credits appear beside each image. Getty Images retains the relevant photographic rights; links to magazine coverage identify the source of the reference photographs and do not establish a licence for this site or for social media.
