The night of October 15 was host to numerous dazzling looks as models took the runway for Victoria’s Secret’s 2025 fashion show.

While there wasn’t one set theme for this year’s show, the company attempted to stick to their new image and inclusivity as they presented the hottest new lingerie wear in their 25th runway. The pink carpet interviews began at 6:30 p.m. EST, the runway itself commencing shortly after. Similar to last year, the show was held at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City.

Victoria’s Secret began its fashion shows in 1995, with models such as Ingrid Seynhaeve and Frederique van der Wal. The show was at its peak in the early-2000s with supermodels, better known as angels; including Adriana Limia, Alessandra Ambrosio, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, and Gisele Bündchen. The show was cancelled in 2019 due to controversy and decline in viewership. The brand created a new image for themselves and made a return with a fashion show in October 2024, however the public was unsure of this comeback claiming that Victoria’s Secret was not what it used to be.

Senior Ashley Zhang believes the 2025 show was better than the 2024 show saying that the company did a good job of “receiving, taking in, and actually making changes” based on the feedback from last year.

Some of the feedback from 2024 show included bringing back the blowout hair looks, elevating the stage, and making the production overall bigger.

Victoria’s Secret listened to the public and hired celebrity hairstyle Jawara Wauchope to bring the blowouts back, and he did not disappoint. The stage was elevated, and while the production was not on par with the company’s early-2000s shows, it was better than the previous year.

As explained by MEGA, “The show unfolded across six segments: First Light, gilded in amber and gold; Bombshell, a bold burst of pink; PINK Halftime Show, a playful nod to athleisure; Hot Pursuit, a fiery display in scarlet; Magic Hour, a nod to Y2K sunset hues; and Black Tie, the after-dark finale dripping in glamour.”

Ashley is unsure if she enjoys this segmenting.

“The way they kind of changed it into sections, it’s just like incoherent,” she said.

The sections were accompanied by music artists Madison Beer, Karol G., TWICE, and Missy Elliot.

“I loved Madison Beer,” Ashley said. “Missy was good, but it felt like an advertisement because no one was walking.”

“My favorite performance was definitely Madison Beer. She looked gorgeous, her voice was stable, and the stage was amazing,” Haruka Okuno, a senior from Toyka, Japan said. “She set my expectation too high that it will be a lie if I say I was not disappointed by some of the performance from TWICE.”

The show consisted of old bombshells and new. The return of Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo, and Liu Wen excited the older audience; where as models Alex Consani, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Anok Yai, and Yasmin Wijnaldum interested the younger generation.

Haruka had two favorites on the runway.

She loved Barbara Palvin’s first look saying she “looked stunning and the color suited her well.”

Barbara Palvin, who has been in five previous Victoria’s Secret shows, appeared on the runway twice. The first appearance, in the “First Light” segment, that Haruka is referring to, consisted of a bronze dress with a plunged neckline to reveal a laced bra. The dress and attached sleeves flowed effortlessly as she strutted down the runway. The only similarity between her looks was her flawless blowout. Her look during the “Black Tie” section was a sparkling silver ensemble with wings featured on the front of her corset top.

Haruka’s other favorite look was shared by Ashley: Jasmine Tookes. Tookes, or should I say Tookes and her baby, opened the show nine months pregnant.

“I love how it was a metaphor,” Ashley said. “You know how her wings were like a pearl shell. It’s about being a bombshell, but she is also like the mother of the pearl and her baby is the pearl. That’s why I thought it was so good to be the opening.”

Tookes, a returner, wore a fishnet-style dress with teardrop-shaped pearls. Instead of traditional angel wings, Tookes wore a shell-shaped backpiece. As Ashley explained, there was a deeper meaning behind the pearls and the shell-shaped wings.

Personally, I loved Barbara Palvin’s looks as well as the red outfit they placed Yasmin Wijnaldum in during the “Hot Pursuit” segment. Wijnaldum’s set was made of large, shiny, red sequins with a cut out in the center. Her strappy red heels and blown out hair matched the ensemble perfectly.

I also enjoyed the variation in head and backpieces. For example, I enjoyed Irina Shayk’s pink fan-like headpiece during the “Bombshell” section. As for variations of backpieces, the masquerade mask-shaped wings worn by Alessandra Ambrosio during the “Black Tie” closing of the show, were a favorite of mine.

Favorites must be paired with some dislike. For Haruka, she felt that Angel Reese’s look disappointed.

“As much as I loved how athletes were engaging in this show this time, Victoria’s Secret hyped her up all over on the social media and her outfit was not eating,” she said. “I feel like it was more like Victoria’s Secret’s fault than her fault.”

I was not a fan of the “PINK Halftime Show” portion because it felt out of place. I understand they were attempting to appeal to a specific target audience as well as trying to incorporate athletes Sunisa Lee and Angel Reese, but I think the transition into this section could have been smoother.

Ashley feels that there a few models absent from the runway.

“There were so many people they were missing, like Kendall Jenner and Taylor Hill,” she said.

She added to this by saying Victoria’s Secret should create a new iconic group.

“I feel like they need a new generation like with Alex and Anok,” she said. “Like Taylor Hill, the Hadid sisters, and Candice Swanepoel were Victoria’s Secret, like that was their label. They just need a new group of people who are that label.”

As much as we want to bring back what Victoria’s Secret used to be, Haruka makes a good point.

“As much as I miss the 2010-2018 Victoria’s Secret shows, I also feel like Victoria’s Secret shows depict a part of transition and we should just focus on what the new trends are rather than missing what it used to be,” she said.