Angels and Pop Stars: This Year’s Fashion and Performance in Victoria Secret’s Annual Fashion Show
By: Maeve Moynihan, Senior Writer Edited by: Tessa Reiner
Victoria's Secret reclaimed their wings in last year’s annual fashion show, and their trajectory was to fly even higher with this year’s performance. With returning models like Elsa Hosk and Adriana Lima, and artist performances from singers like Tate McRae and Meghan Maroney, this year really highlights the individual influence of “fashion” and “show,” and creates a balance between the two. As Victoria Secret’s representation of “womanhood” took flight on the runway, it projected their fashion voice to one of the largest audiences in the fashion world.
This year’s theme, "Fandemonium", put emphasis on the fans themselves, highlighting the massive fan culture surrounding this year specifically, attracting an even larger culture with thousands of applicants wanting to get their wings. The show took viewers through the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Bella Hadid led “Spring” dressed in a floral set, with matching floral wings, sprouting into the show to represent the season. The spring looks focused on light, and bright colors that represent liveliness,and comfort. With colors ranging from green and pink to looks from gowns and lingerie, the models showcased not just Victoria Secret products, but true fashion. Anok Yai’s piece in particular encapsulated the spring theme, as she walked the runway in a full blown pink rose, immersing and “flowering” into the art she was modeling.
The transition into “Summer” turned baby pink into neon, with looks reflecting off of the runway. Models intricated metallic wings with bright, shining accessories, the “statement piece” of the operation. Jasmine Tookes, model for Victoria Secret since 2012, shined on the runway wearing hot pink wings, with neon orange bangles, bright blue hoops, and a pink and yellow set bringing the outfit to life. Models stepped out with a purpose of not just wearing the fashion, but walking the fierce walk, representing summer with power.
Neutral fashion encapsulated Autumn’s presence on the runway. Elsa Hosk, Victoria Secret model from 2011 and 2018, made her runway return in this season’s fashion, wearing statement, gold-like wings. Her presence not only drew attention to the fashion, but to the sense in Victoria Secret nostalgia that fans have been craving for.
Winter was the encore, with two separate sets of angels walking in water, ice, and rain. The “Winter Reprise” featured not only icy, white fashion, but the debut of this year’s fantasy bra, shining in gold and diamonds, a great choice in representing the “crystal like” atmosphere that the fashion encapsulated.
In the middle of the central theme, KATSEYE gave a “halftime show” alongside PINK fashion walking the runway. PINK has had a spot in the show since 2006, following its launch in 2002. As PINK is generally pushed onto a younger audience, this year’s theme centralized around that “young” girl stuck in the 2000s. These looks included leopard print, sweat suits, and the old retro camera recording.
Preceding PINK, Megan Maroney, country pop star, was the soundtrack to the spring collection, dressed head to toe in pink, down to the wings. Maroney’s “country pink” was as sweet as spring, with her “Cloud 9” album hit song “6 Months Later” recognized throughout the space. It was a transition point from that stark start, attracting a sense of awe in the fashion consuming the runway.
Victoria Secret’s next performer, Canadian pop star Tate McRae, pivoted into a fiery, red hot pop performance, strutting the runway with red high heels and a mic in hand. McRae is largely known as more than just a singer, but a dancer as well, visualizing the definition of a performer. Accompanied by a dance crew, McRae sang her new single “Housewife” live for the first time, followed by previous hits “Dear God” and “Sports Car.” McRae turned the runway into a concert, dedicated to Victoria Secret.
Tate McRae’s fierce entrance made the transition from spring fashion into summer that much more intensified, introducing legacy angel Gigi Hadid as the first model to walk to McRae’s soundtrack, wearing sliver, shimmering wings. McRae herself excited the stage in red wings, mirroring the angels just as Maroney did.
Following PINK, the silhouette fantasy bra wearer was revealed to be the one and only, Kylie Jenner, shimmering in diamonds, literally. This was not only the debut of this year’s diamond fantasy bra, but Jenner’s debut in Victoria Secret, making her the first wearer that was not a Victoria Secret angel. Paired with statement white wings, Jenner’s walk was “angel like”, leaving audience members speechless, as her appearance was not publicized prior.
Meghan Thee Stallion ends the Winter sequence as the final pop star. As an encore performer, Thee Stallion encouraged audience energy, treating her time on the runway as a real show. Performing with silver, metallic wings and a bedazzled rest of her outfit, Thee Stallion was more than just a pop star, but a lively entertainer, ending the show on a memorable note.
The final angel walk was Victoria Secret legacy Adrianna Lima, the closer of Victoria Secret’s 2026 fashion show. This marks 21 shows for Lima, reminding audiences of her long, dedicated drive for not just Victoria Secret, but for modeling.
Victoria Secret’s key to success is the balance between their pop stars and their angels, as each must compliment one another to showcase both the fashion and the music, equally crucial art forms in producing the show. If the balance becomes faulty, it can ruin not only the rhythm of the production, but how the show illuminates the runway to the viewers. Syracuse Junior and fashion design major Maddy Singer, who also tuned into this year’s show, reflects on how crucial this balance is.
“I think it gets very tricky when you’re balancing a live performance and a fashion show. Music makes the runway so much better but when it gets to the point where the singers are overtaking the show and no one’s looking at the looks anymore. I think it gets a little unbalanced. Like for instance, Megan Moroney, who did a great job and looked fabulous, but was bumping into models, and it seemed like no one even was looking at the clothes when singers perform”
At the end of the day the show is a production, and if all the pieces are not connecting or operating properly, it can cause cracks. It is not solely about the individual model or the individual artist, but how each side works together to represent Victoria Secret, its name, and what it stands for in the world of beauty and fashion.
Victoria Secret is a household name. From fashion influences to promoting fashion and women's creativity, the company has a clear audience, which is why these shows put them on the runway, for everyone to see, and consume. It’s about collaboration, using each others’ talents to create something even more magical than it would be standing alone, and that is what is illustrated through the angels and stars that run, and walk, these shows every year.
© 2026 by FETCH COLLECTIVE
Comments