After a six-year hiatus, the highly anticipated Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show made its grand return in 2024, with a star-studded lineup featuring supermodels like Tyra Banks, Kate Moss, and Ashley Graham. Hosted in Brooklyn, New York, the iconic event took the fashion world by storm, bringing back the signature glamour while making a few key updates to reflect the brand’s new direction.
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With performances by Lisa, Tyla, and Cher, this year’s event is already being hailed as “the best Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show of all time.” Despite its longstanding popularity, many still don’t fully understand the significance of the show’s most recognizable accessory: the wings.
One common misconception is that wearing wings automatically makes a model a Victoria’s Secret Angel. In reality, the two are separate distinctions. Angels are models with exclusive contracts that involve commitments to various promotional activities, such as photo shoots and public appearances.
Although every Angel is guaranteed to wear wings during the show, other non-Angel models are also granted the privilege to don the extravagant accessory. For those models, being chosen to wear wings is a significant milestone in their careers and represents a moment of major accomplishment within the fashion world.
The design of the wings themselves plays an important role in the model’s status. The size and extravagance of a model’s wings often reflect their standing within the brand. For instance, larger and more ornate wings tend to be reserved for the most prominent models, while smaller wings are given to those who are newer to the Victoria’s Secret runway.
The selection process for who gets to wear wings each year is a hotly debated topic. While some models, like Josephine Skriver, had to wait years for the honor—Skriver didn’t get her wings until 2016, five years after her debut—others like Bella Hadid were selected to wear them during their first appearance on the runway.
According to Marian Hose, the wing designer for Victoria’s Secret, wings are typically assigned to models in the final weeks before the show. Fittings can be an intense process, with models trying on their wings multiple times to ensure the perfect fit. Hose also revealed that code words are used during fittings to keep the details of which models will be wearing wings a closely guarded secret until the big reveal on the runway.
Along with the iconic wings and star-studded model lineup, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2024 made history with an all-female musical lineup. Cher, Lisa, and Tyla headlined the event, delivering performances that were widely praised as highlights of the night.
TheFashionSpot forums were flooded with reactions to the show, with many users lauding both the fashion and the performances. One forum member, Cosplayed, wrote, “I’m so sorry but this is the best Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show of all time!” Another user, Jose Antonio Lat, commented, “I really like the show, it’s so different. Back to a better time and less toxic.”
Fans were also thrilled to see Tyra Banks make her return to the runway, nearly two decades after her last appearance. Banks, famous for her “smize,” joined an impressive list of returning Victoria’s Secret veterans, including Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, and Alessandra Ambrosio. Adding even more excitement to the night, supermodels Kate Moss and Carla Bruni made surprise appearances, delighting fans both in the audience and watching online.
On YouTube, the show was live-streamed to almost 10 million viewers at one time, underscoring the enormous global interest in the event. As with any Victoria’s Secret show, the production was filled with breathtaking moments. Model Vittoria Ceretti, Imaan Hammam, and Alex Consani were among the models-of-the-moment who strutted down the runway in their elaborate wings, further cementing their status in the modeling world.
The reaction from fans and critics alike has been overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the changes to the show’s format and its more inclusive approach. A forum member, Bobby153, remarked, “The cast was so good! So happy to see Kate there. Candice and Adriana will just always be quintessential VS angels, just gorgeous.” Another user, Marc10, pointed out the noticeable shift in tone for the event: “It felt a lot less campy costumy spectacle and more elevated and high fashion-minded than they used to, from the production to the looks to the casting.”
The performances were also a major talking point among viewers. One forum member, marsnoop2, praised the musical lineup, stating, “The music was GREAT. All of the performers rocked and the remixes were amazing, this was really the highlight for me.” Ihhbl added, “OMG. Every single model looked GORGEOUS and I think having new girls opening/closing some of the segments was refreshing. Also, was not expecting Lisa to be this powerful and confident! Tyla and Cher KILLED it too. I’m out of words, it was all so good!”
While not every viewer will be fully satisfied with the return of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, most agree that the 2024 edition was a stunning success. The diverse cast, impressive musical performances, and breathtaking wings made for a night to remember. As Marc10 optimistically concluded, “Hopefully they are back in 2025!”
