Bella Hadid has explained why she went back to Victoria’s Secret, and she ties it to what changed inside the brand. “What magnetized me to coming back was them coming to me and really proving to me that, behind the scenes, Victoria’s Secret has changed so drastically,” she said after joining the VS Collective in 2021.
She opened the Victoria’s Secret show on October 18, 2026 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, a surprise slot that wasn’t announced ahead of time. Her sister Gigi walked too, and the night came days after Bella turned 30 on October 9.
The weight of it goes back to 2015, when she was rejected from the casting the same year Gigi debuted. “I tried last year [to be cast in] the show, but I think everything happens for a reason,” she told Paper in 2016, the year she finally walked and became, alongside Gigi, the first pair of sisters on the same runway.
She returned in 2017 and 2018, then stepped back as the brand drew criticism. A 2020 New York Times investigation detailed a culture of misogyny and harassment under former chief marketing officer Ed Razek, who denied the claims as “categorically untrue, misconstrued or taken out of context.” The annual show was canceled after 2018, and the company later restructured.
When she came back, she tied it to what had changed behind the scenes.
“I feel empowered in lingerie, instead of feeling like my body is some sort of money maker.” She pointed to female leadership and new photoshoot protocols that gave models more control, describing the old setup as putting a model’s worth “in the hands of, like, three men who essentially tell you if you’re good enough or not.”
The comebacks have come with real strain. She’s managed chronic Lyme disease since around 16, and in 2025 she walked soon after a September hospitalization.
Fans worried she looked close to tears that night; she answered on TikTok that the wings were heavy, she’d gotten her period that morning, and her stamina wasn’t back yet. “I’m OK, I swear… sorry if I let u down,” she wrote.
Her 2026 opener looks included vine-like wings dotted with beaded flowers, worn with a floral-embellished green bra and a sheer lime-green mini, before she switched to a white sheer pleated dress layered over lace and topped with large white angel wings.
The lineup also included Kylie Jenner’s runway debut in the roughly $50 million Fantasy Bra, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, and performances from Megan Thee Stallion, KATSEYE, Tate McRae, and Megan Moroney.
