On Sunday, Oct. 18th, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2026 premiered and streamed live at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California. After the “pink carpet” pre-show, where model interviews and featured guest arrivals were held, the main runway show broadcasted globally on major media platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
This year, the theme and main focus of the show laid on representing the four seasons through intricate lingerie details and loungewear, celebrating “Vintage Victoria” stemming from the iconic early 2000s archives. On the same token, the return of the brand’s Y2K style made a surprise comeback for the past Victoria’s Secret Angels, preeminently Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk, Barbara Palvin, Ming Xi and Irina Shayk.
While the models were walking down the runway, a major pop artist lineup was featured, including Megan Thee Stallion, Tate McRae, Megan Moroney and Katseye performing with their gigantic wings on stage.
This year’s show was a corporate financial turnaround for the brand after many years of regression after its prime in the 2000s. However, sugarcoated controversy and online backlash arose among the public regarding the recent presentation.
To begin with, netizens complain that nepotism has eclipsed the name of the brand. Despite the grand return of past Victoria’s Secret Angels who raised the brand to fame and fashion, the casting choices for the biggest moments of the show included eminent “nepo babies” in the social media influencer realm. Every show, the most expected part of the runway is the multi-million dollar fantasy bra and the fierce competition that revolves around the question of who deserves to wear it.
This year, Kylie Jenner appeared in a $50 million fantasy bra with diamond-encrusted gemstones, leading to debate that the casting sidelined seasoned angels and working models. Furthermore, clips of models dodging their heads during their walk due to gigantic wings given to performing artists added to the debate of who does and does not deserve a title in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
With these heated disputes demonstrated in the brand’s 2026 show, the controversy reflects the current and enduring issue in the modern fashion industry, bringing more attention to the brand and its new comeback.