Kylie Jenner made her Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show debut in the brand’s $50 million fantasy bra as the event returned to Los Angeles for the first time in 19 years.
The reality TV star, 29, walked the runway at Sony Studios in Culver City on Sunday wearing the gemstone-encrusted bra with a sheer mini skirt, silver briefs, clear heels and white wings.
Her appearance was watched from the front row by her boyfriend, Timothee Chalamet, and her mother, Kris Jenner. But the decision to give the coveted garment to a first-time Victoria’s Secret model prompted criticism from some fans online.
One commentator described it as “a smack in the face to the actual models who worked hard”, while another asked: “So they’re just letting anyone wear it?” A further post called the decision “disrespectful”.
Another critic wrote: “Mind you she never even walked the runway before and she gets the fantasy bra??? lowk tragic.” One more questioned the decision to choose Jenner over veteran models, writing: “Over barbara, adriana, and anok???”
Hadid sisters lead Victoria’s Secret runway
The show opened with Bella Hadid, 30, who wore a multicoloured embellished bra with matching wings and a sheer green mini skirt.
She later returned in a sheer white dress and theatrical wings, while her sister Gigi Hadid, 31, appeared in a silver top with blue and pink underwear and dramatic silver fringe wings.
Gigi’s second outfit was a white corset with matching briefs and glittering white wings. The sisters were among a line-up of established Victoria’s Secret names and returning Angels.
Adriana Lima, 45, walked in a lime lace bodysuit, while Elsa Hosk, 37, wore a pink corset with flowing sleeves. Alessandra Ambrosio, 45, appeared in a pink bra and voluminous skirt, and Candice Swanepoel, 37, wore a pink bodysuit.
Barbara Palvin, 33, returned to the runway six weeks after giving birth to her first child with her husband, Dylan Sprouse. She wore a sheer pink slip dress before appearing in a sparkling angel-inspired look.
Other models included Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Irina Shayk, Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes and Vittoria Ceretti.
Huntington-Whiteley made a dramatic entrance in white fur over matching lingerie, while Shayk appeared in a white lace bodysuit with angel wings and later wore a pink slip dress.
Prinsloo walked in gold metallic wings and pink lingerie, and Ceretti appeared in bridal-white lingerie with a feathered skirt. Graham wore a pink bodysuit with floral wings, while Elsesser also chose pink for the occasion.
Performances and new Victoria’s Secret Angel
The show featured performances from Megan Thee Stallion, Katseye, Megan Moroney and Tate McRae.
Megan Thee Stallion performed in a lace bra, black briefs and sparkling stockings, while McRae appeared in red lingerie alongside matching dancers. Katseye performed during the Pink section of the show in coordinated corsets and mini skirts.
The event began with a teaser featuring Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, 46, posing in pink lingerie before the models took to the runway.
Solange Omon made her runway debut as Victoria’s Secret’s newest Angel after being discovered through the brand’s YouTube series Angels Among Us.
The Pink section also featured Iris Law, the daughter of actor Jude Law, Natalia Bryant, the daughter of the late basketball star Kobe Bryant, and Trinity Rodman, daughter of former footballer Dennis Rodman.
The 2026 show marked the third year of Victoria’s Secret’s return after a six-year hiatus. The event was cancelled in 2019 following criticism of the brand’s lack of diversity in its model line-up and comments by its then-chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, about transgender and plus-size models.
Victoria’s Secret brought the show back in 2024 with a more diverse group of models, including plus-size and transgender models. However, that event was criticised by some viewers as lacking the glamour associated with the brand’s earlier shows.
In 2025, chief executive Hillary Super announced plans to restore the company’s “unapologetically sexy” identity as it moved away from its previous rebrand.
Former Angels criticise casting decisions
The glamour of Sunday’s show was accompanied by controversy over the absence of several familiar faces.
Dutch model Romee Strijd, 31, said she had attended a casting call in New York in September and had trained during the summer in the hope of returning to the runway. She said she had previously appeared in the Victoria’s Secret show from 2014 to 2018.
Strijd said she waited weeks for a response, describing the process as a “rollercoaster” and “mentally exhausting”. She later said her agent told her: “You were great, but they thought you wouldn’t fit in the show this year.”
She said she did not expect to audition for the show again, adding: “I don’t like the way it went, I don’t like how the whole process went, I don’t like the way I was treated and I would love to keep the positive memories of VS.”
Former Angel Frida Aasen, 31, who walked in 2017 and 2018, also said she had attended the casting and had not been selected. “I’m so sad you didn’t get it! I also went to the casting and it was a no. It sucks but sending you lots of love,” she wrote.
Their absences led some fashion fans to threaten a boycott of the event, although the Los Angeles show went ahead with a mixture of established models, newcomers and celebrity guests.
