Tyra Banks Closed the VS Fashion With a Strut and a Smize

Tyra Banks closed the VS Fashion Show? Sorry, what year is it again?

The 50-year-old model, who was once a staple of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runways, made her grand return to the catwalk on October 15 for the revamped presentation, which was resuscitated following the brand’s very public downfall and subsequent rebranding.

Banks closed the show in a black bra and bedazzled corset, which was paired with a stunning silver cape that she modeled the heck out of, to no one’s surprise.

The former America’s Next Top Model host and inventor of the “smize” was one of several returning models who had retired their Angel wings under Victoria’s Secret’s previous management, including Candice Swanepoel, Doutzen Kroes, Adriana Lima, and Alessandra Ambrosio. Millennial Angels like Joan Smalls, Josephine Skriver, Taylor Hill, Behati Prinsloo, Jasmine Tookes, and Gigi and Bella Hadid, who dominated the VS Pink era, also returned to the runway.

Of note, transgender models Alex Consani and Victoria Sampaio also walked the VS Fashion Show. This comes six years after the brand’s former chief marketing officer made transphobic comments in a Vogue interview, triggering major changes at the company. The remarks were considered the tipping point for the brand, which was already under fire for their narrow beauty ideals. In 2019, after 24 years, Victoria’s Secret shelved their annual fashion show and embarked on a rebrand.

When they announced their return in May 2024, the company promised a more inclusive presentation. In addition to history-making models Consani and Sampaio, Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser, two plus-size models, made their VS Fashion Show debut last night.

While Tyra Banks’s VS Fashion Show return feels a bit like déjà vu, we can say with certainty that this is not 2004’s Victoria’s Secret. But, was it a success? That’s still up in the air.