Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Says Middle Age is Sexy

In most professions, the age of 32 seems too early to retire. But in 2005, Victoria's Secret fashion show model Tyra Banks removed her Angel wings for good at that age. She had shifted her focus to her burgeoning television career. Had she not been one of the oldest models on the runway at the time, one could have read her new priorities as the sole reason for her departure.

But we now know what was going on behind the scenes at the lingerie giant in the early 2000s, and what forces were at play that would imply that the 32-year-old was somehow “too old” for the runway. Before Victoria's Secret canceled its annual fashion show in 2019, it was an extravaganza known for over-the-top sets and outfits too skimpy to be called lingerie. (At least in terms of who could model. The brand does not discriminate against the age of its shoppers.) The runway casting glorified youth and slenderness, sometimes at the expense of the models' physical and mental health. Every leg was toned, every stomach flat. So no one at the height of the brand could imagine a woman in her 40s or 50s with stretch marks and wrinkles walking alongside them”

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But that was then; on October 15, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show of 2024 returned with the promise that the brand had changed and so had its face. The first “breakout stars,” curve models (Ashley Graham, Devin Garcia, Paloma Elsesser, etc.), trans models (Valentina Sampaio, etc.), and models in their 40s and 50s walked its runway. There was also a reunion of stars from the brand's early days, who looked more confident than ever in middle age.

Designers in the fashion world have been featuring middle-aged models in their shows for years, albeit occasionally: Bat Sheva Hay, whose Fall 2024 runway was filled with women over 40, and Copenhagen Fashion, where gray hair and Botox-free skin dominated ...you only have to look at all the registrants for the week to see that. Still, for a brand with Victoria's Secret history, a runway where 15% of the models are over 40 seems like progress.

As returning groups such as Alessandra Ambrosio (41), Adriana Lima (43), Isabeli Fontana (41), and Eva Herzigover (51) strutted down the runway on the pink-lit, silver-lit audience on the Brooklyn Navy Yard stage The biggest cheers came from the stands. These women, too, were in full sensuality, with lacy push-up bras and sheer lace dresses throughout.

It is clear that these women do not represent the average woman in her 40s or 50s. The checks the models have collected over the years have given them access to treatments, products, and trainers that the average person does not have. On the whole, they were all straight or mid-size. Though imperfect, their expressions made the long-forgotten point that the desire to feel desired and sexy in one's own right does not end at age 25 or 30.

Some of the best moments of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show were by the new class of 50-something angels. Kate Moss and her daughter Laila walked the runway for the first time at last night's show: Kate in a black lace and tulle wing, Laila in a shiny baby pink set. Kate in black lace and tulle wings, Laila in shiny baby pink wings: Carla Bruni also made her debut in a glitter-lined black corset and fringe wings

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In an interview with Page Six, the former French first lady joked about sharing the stage with Bella Hadid and others. 'At my age . It's very exciting and really overwhelming. Because you never get used to being on the runway, no matter how long you've been doing it."

[20 [And at the end of the show, Tyra Banks made her long-awaited return. With pink confetti falling from the ceiling, she swapped her 30-pound wings for a cape reminiscent of a monarch butterfly (but pink) and the glittery thongs of yesteryear for equally glittery leggings. Her yuletide athleisure was displayed for live streaming shopping of the fashion show telecast, and sold out.

Clearly, the Victoria's Secret version of sexy still sells. But after a six-year hiatus, the brand seems to have learned what shoppers have known all along: sexy has no age limit. Now, if there is a next time, aim higher than 15%.

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