Last night, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show returned—the second showing since the lingerie giant's attempted comeback last year, which received mixed reviews. This year in New York, the show returned with what felt like a bigger budget and a bigger investment in the theatrics (which, arguably, is what always carried the show from the days of yore, aside from the supermodels). There was a proper built-out stage like the good old days, an increase in the number of fantastical wings witnessed, and generally a more nostalgic energy to the whole production.
We were backstage, almost onstage (Faith was seated extremely close), and on the couch watching the show unfold last night, and this morning, the Coveteur editors held a debrief to discuss what happened. Read our conversation, below.
Kala Herh
Ella O'Keeffe, senior editor: Kala, you were backstage for the day. Tell us about what it was like back there?
Kala Herh, social strategy lead: It was good. If I could describe it in a few words, I would say controlled chaos. I've never done a backstage where they need to background check you as part of the process, so that was really crazy. And the security was just nuts, but it makes sense because once you get in, you kind of get free reign for all the models. You can just talk to whoever. So we talked to a bunch of the OG Angels.
Faith Xue, editor-in-chief: How did the OG angels feel compared to the new girls?
KH: Honestly the vibes were high. The vibes were super high in the room.
EO: I saw lots of bouncy blowouts in the making backstage…
KH: Oh, lots of bouncy blowouts. Thank god. I actually was looking at our comments for the Adriana piece, and so many people were like, thank god, it's not a slick back.
Natasha Sheridan, social creative lead: Candace did a slick back last year and you would think the world was ending.
EO: Faith, you were there basically onstage because of how close you were to the runway!
FX: It was so crazy. Especially when Missy Elliot’'s background dancers were coming up. I was like, "They're going to pull me on stage!" I could not believe how close I was.
EO: We all got goosebumps from Missy!
FX: She was definitely the highlight. All the girls did really well for the performances, but I would say the crowd really went wild for Missy.
EO: What was the rest of it like?
FX: So I got dopped off at a location in Brookly, then I had to take a golf cart to the studio. Then, everyone was milling around and that's where they were passing out the jello shots and the champagne and that's where the pink carpet was. And then the actual location this year felt very high budget. I feel like people loved the curvy models and Angel Reese. She definitely seemed confident during her walk, too—she did a little twirl at the end and you were like, "Oh, she looks so comfortable and happy."
Getty Images
Getty Images
EO: I loved seeing the girls like Devyn Garcia and Precious Lee. It was nice that there were multiple plus sized girls instead of just a couple of token girls.
KH: Backstage, Ashley [Graham] was flocked by reporters.
FX: Yes! I was trying to think of who got the biggest cheers. She got a huge cheers. People loved her. I will say, there were some more diverse body types, but there weren't any differently abled girls…
EO: Let’s talk about this year versus last year. What did we like? What did we feel improved? Because last year was tough. It was a tough watch.
FX: Last year felt a bit like watching like a an Olympian past their prime try to…make a comeback and they're just not the same.
EO: You mean the brand, not the girls.
FX: Yes, just the overall vibe. I felt like this year, I had a really good time. The production value felt high, the performances were great, it seemed like all the models were having fun. It felt like an old Victoria Secret show. Does it have a time and place in 2026? I think that's like a different conversation.
EO: What I noticed last year is that it felt really determined to tick a box. They were trying to make a comeback, but they were also almost scared to do so. And I think they were trying to modernize it in a way that like nobody really wants from a brand like VS. Like yes, we want inclusivity and yes, we want diversity, but we don't not want the fantasy. We want both?!
KH: Faith and I were talking about this this morning and I think it's fun that the current creative director was the Savage Fenty creative director, Adam Selman. Which is interesting because one of the reasons why Victoria's Secret fell off and why they restarted was because they were coming up against criticism after Savage Fenty came out and they were much more inclusive, but not in a performative way. I really liked Angel Reese. I thought that was like a smart choice of them, casting an athlete and also the WMBA of it all. I loved that they cast Quen Blackwell too.
NS: There's such a discourse online about the TikTokers joining the runway. The comments are like, "Why are there TikTokers? We should keep this to the professional models." But like, they crushed it and they have a fan base and it looked like they were just having the best time of their lives. Does it matter where they started from? Personally, I thought it just made it feel more fun and more attainable to the fantasy world.
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EO: Obviously, we're in a moment right now where it would be remiss of us not to acknowledge the fact that thinness is very much back in and women's bodies are arguably being more commodified than ever. Did anyone want to touch on that?
FX: I feel like it was a very positive celebratory vibe that was for the girls, instead of the male gaze. It felt much more like, we're here to celebrate these supermodels we love. That was the overall feeling for me.
EO: For me, it’s like so are we buying bras from Victoria's Secret now or are we just tuning into the show? Cause I’m not sure I want to be that girl anymore.
FX: I didn't feel that this year either.
EO: Right? And I don't know if that's just a part of getting older or maybe the fantasy is like, it's purely for consumption instead of aspiration.
NS: I do love the fact that there were so many mothers on the runway. I think having these multifaceted women who are working mothers felt really aspirational in that sense.
FX: Yeah. It is also interesting because now I'm thinking… I don't think I for one second last night went home and thought about my body compared to the models and felt bad that I didn't look like them. It was more about the spectacle and the fun and the performances and the glamour.
EO: That’s a positive.
