Dominique Alagia made it to the Victoria's Secret show thanks to social media. Kylie Jenner wore a bra worth 50 million dollars
The legendary Victoria's Secret fashion show once again attempted this year to reconnect with its golden era, which ended in 2018. After a six-year hiatus and return to the runway in 2024, the brand is still searching for ways to regain its former glory. This year, it bet on a spectacular comeback of the iconic diamond Fantasy Bra, which Kylie Jenner wore valued at 50 million dollars. While one of the world's most followed celebrities received one of the evening's most prestigious moments, former angel Romee Strijd, who modeled for the brand for years, did not pass the casting this year.
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was for many years something more than just a fashion show. It was a spectacular show that managed to transform models into global stars. Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Gisele Bündchen, or Heidi Klum weren't just beautiful women in luxury lingerie. They were symbols of a certain era of modeling, when getting a spot on the Victoria's Secret runway represented one of the biggest career achievements.
And if there was one piece that perfectly captured this exclusivity, it was the legendary Fantasy Bra. The iconic bra decorated with precious stones first appeared in 1996, when it was presented by Claudia Schiffer. In 2000, Gisele Bündchen followed with the Red Hot Fantasy Bra model valued at an incredible 15 million dollars. Heidi Klum wore a bra worth 11 million dollars in 2003, and in 2014, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio shared this prestigious honor.
The Fantasy Bra last appeared on the runway in 2018, when it was worn by Elsa Hosk. This year, this embellished bra returned to the runway.
Kylie Jenner in a $50 million bra.
One of the biggest surprises of this year's show was Kylie Jenner, who made her debut on the Victoria's Secret runway. It was Kylie who was given the opportunity to present the new Fantasy Bra valued at an astronomical $50 million. The bra, created in collaboration with jeweler Jacob & Co., contained 4,410 natural diamonds and its production took over a thousand hours. From a marketing perspective, this is obviously a genius move. Kylie Jenner is one of the most famous personalities on social media and her name alone guarantees enormous media attention.
The Fantasy Bra used to be a symbol of prestige that models built through years of work on the runway. This year it went to a woman whose career is primarily based on reality shows, business, celebrity status, and extraordinary influence on social media. Of course, I don't mean to say that Kylie doesn't belong on the runway. But it does mean that the rules of the game have clearly changed. In the past, this brand created supermodels. Today, it perhaps prefers to choose women who already have their own audience of millions.
Romee Strijd
Even more remarkable than Kylie Jenner's debut is the story of model Romee Strijd. The Dutch beauty was among the iconic Victoria's Secret angels and appeared regularly at the brand's shows from 2014 to 2018. This year, after maternity leave, she decided to return. She attended the casting, trained for several months, and prepared for her comeback. Instead of the desired return, she received rejection. Romee openly described on social media how long she waited for the decision and how the uncertainty of the entire process exhausted her mentally. In the end, she learned that according to the casting team, she doesn't fit into this year's show. A model who for years represented the very essence of the brand is suddenly not the right choice for the show. But a woman who became famous primarily through reality television and social media gets one of the most prestigious moments of the entire evening.
Of course, every brand has the right to decide who they cast. And no one has an automatic right to a spot on the runway just because they walked there ten years ago. But it's hard not to perceive a certain irony when Victoria's Secret on one hand nostalgically revives its legendary past, while on the other hand rejects one of the women who helped create it.
Previously careers were built. Today reach is built
It would be unfair to claim that current models don't have to work hard. Modeling remains a demanding industry and this year's show also featured a number of experienced professionals, including Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Gigi Hadid or Anok Yai. The Victoria's Secret show used to be the figurative pinnacle of a modeling career. Getting among the angels meant succeeding in tough competition, going through dozens of castings, building a portfolio and earning the respect of the fashion industry. Today, the number of followers and having social media reach can be an equally valuable, if not more valuable currency. And Kylie Jenner is a perfect example of this. Not because she doesn't deserve success, but because her presence brings the brand something that a classic model often cannot offer - immediate global media impact.
Perhaps we are not watching the decline of Victoria's Secret, but merely its adaptation to a world where success is increasingly measured by views, shares, and followers. The question remains, however, whether in this transformation the brand is losing precisely what once made it exceptional.
Dominique Alagia at the Show in Los Angeles
The transformation of Victoria's Secret is not only taking place on the runway. The composition of the audience is also changing significantly. Previously, the front rows were reserved primarily for fashion icons, celebrities, and significant personalities of the fashion industry; today, influencers and digital content creators are increasingly taking up space in them. And the Czech audience even has its representative this year. Dominique Alagia, whom the public knows among other things from the reality show Love Island and social media, also received an exclusive invitation from Victoria's Secret. According to Moda.cz magazine, the twenty-one-year-old influencer was the only invited guest of the brand from the Czech Republic. For Dominique, this is undoubtedly a significant career success. At the same time, however, her participation is a perfect example of how the fashion industry is adapting to the new era. It is no longer enough for brands to have their shows written about in fashion magazines. They want to be seen on Instagram, TikTok, and in the stories of people who can reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers within seconds.
Moms on the Runway: Barbara Palvin Returned Just Six Weeks After Giving Birth
While Romee Strijd didn't get her dream return to the runway, other models showed that motherhood no longer has to mean the end of a career in the Victoria's Secret world. One of the most discussed moments of this year's show was the return of Barbara Palvin, who walked the runway just six weeks after the birth of her first daughter. The Hungarian model welcomed her daughter in early September with actor Dylan Sprouse. And although barely a month and a half had passed since giving birth, on October 18th she was already modeling lingerie again at one of the world's most-watched fashion shows. Her husband supported her from the front row. Behind the scenes, Barbara admitted that the first weeks of motherhood were like a roller coaster ride. At the same time, she appreciated that Victoria's Secret gives women opportunities even during this stage of life. She joked that there's actually nothing unusual about it in the United States, because mothers there often only have six weeks of maternity leave.
And Barbara was definitely not the only mom on the runway. Among this year's stars were also Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Irina Shayk. Irina actually recalled an interesting moment from her career. When she debuted at the Victoria's Secret fashion show in 2016, she was already pregnant without the public knowing. Today she returns to the same runway as the mother of a nine-year-old daughter. Victoria's Secret thus shows that age and motherhood don't have to be obstacles to continuing a modeling career.
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2026 demonstrated that spectacular wings, diamonds and iconic supermodels can still attract attention. At the same time, however, it held up a mirror to the current fashion industry, in which the boundaries between model, celebrity and influencer are becoming increasingly blurred. There is nothing wrong with fashion giving space to new faces. The opportunity to give space to different types of beauty and personalities is one of the positive changes of recent years. The problem arises when it seems that popularity is beginning to outweigh professional experience.
When a former angel doesn't pass the casting, but one of Instagram's most-followed women gets the Fantasy Bra worth 50 million dollars straight away, it's hard not to ask what rules are actually used for selection today.
Sources: original text, commentary, People, Vogue, Moda.cz, Cosmopolitan, Harper's BAZAAR,, Page Six
