A couple of days ago the famous lingerie brand, Victoria’s Secret, held their high-anticipated annual fashion show. The show is almost always the most watched fashion event of the year, raking in millions of viewers and costing millions of pounds.
This year’s show, which will be broadcast in the US on December 2nd, was yet another star-studded extravaganza. Musical guests included Shawn Mendes, Rita Ora, and the Chainsmokers, whilst the brand’s Angels included the likes of Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid and Adriana Lima – who announced she would be no longer walking the pink runway after 20 years.
Yet as old faces leave, new faces appear. The Victoria’s Secret fashion show is a much-coveted gig for supermodels, and so we can’t imagine how excited these newcomers would have been to walk their first VS show!
Click on to learn more about just some of the new models – including where they’re from and which other brand’s they’ve worked for.
Winnie Harlow
Of all the new angels, Winnie Harlow is perhaps the most famous. The Canadian model shot to fame when she appeared on American’s Next Top Model in 2014. She has since appeared on countless fashion week runways, appeared in Beyonce’s Lemonade visual album and gained an impressive 4.8 million followers on Instagram.
Winnie speaks openly about her wish to represent people with skin conditions and last week she became the first ever model with vitiligo to walk Victoria’s Secret runway. In September she told Vogue that the show was ‘the pinnacle of her career’.
View this post on Instagram
Cheyenne Maya Carty
At just 18 years of age, Cheyenne Maya Carty is one of the youngest Victoria’s Secret models to walk this year. The British beauty has only been modeling for five years too – which makes this accomplishment all the more impressive.
Carty was discovered in 2013, whilst roller-skating in London’s Victoria Park. Her first job was for the launch of Rihanna’s River Island collection in 2013 and she’s also worked for Chanel and appeared on the pages of Elle US.
View this post on Instagram
Kelsey Merritt
Kelsey Merritt, like Winnie Harlow, made history last week as she became the first Filipino model to ever walk the VS Fashion Show runway. She announced she would be walking in the show back in September, with the caption ‘WE DID IT PHILIPPINES!!!!!!’
Safe to say, then, that Merritt understands the importance of her appearance. What’s more, on Instagram the model also often shares body-positive messages with her followers, which many would argue is a step in the right direction for the sometimes outdated Victoria’s Secret brand.
Sadie Newman
Sadie Newman is a British model, who hails from Devon yet who moved to New York City when she was just 17 years old. She has appeared in Victoria’s Secret campaigns before, however, this year was her first time walking down the hallowed runway.
Newman has also appeared in campaigns for Balenciaga, Glamour magazine and even as a character on Law and Order.
Mayowa Nicholas
Maoyowa Nicholas is used to making history, having been the first Nigerian model to star in Dolce & Gabbana, Saint Laurent, and Calvin Klein fashion campaigns. After last week she can also add becoming the 2nd Nigerian to walk the VS fashion show, following in the footsteps of Oluchi Orlandi.
Nicholas has also worked for other high-end brands, including the likes of Prada, Miu Miu, Versace, and Chanel. Sharing photos from her dressing room after the event, Mayowa said that the show was a ‘moment to remember’ and that she hoped that all the girls reading her caption would ‘feel represented’ and that their dreams were valid.
Duckie Thot
Duckie Thot is an Australian model, whose family have roots in South Sudan. She shot to fame on the 8th cycle of Australia’s Next Top Model, where she finished in third place. Duckie went on to walk her first runway for Yeezy (Kanye West’s fashion brand), and to become the face of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty.
Duckie is also a global ambassador for L’Oreal Paris, where she champions diversity. She said she took the job as she’s ‘looking forward to helping more girls love the beauty of their dark skin’, a sentiment she echoed when she found out she’d been invited to walk in Victoria’s Secret show. She said ‘this moment means the world. Always believe you can do anything’.
View this post on Instagram
filled with happiness 💗 thank you for including me in such a spectacular show!
Alannah Walton
Alannah Walton is just 18 years old, which makes her one of the youngest of this year’s newcomers. The Aussie babe has a very impressive story about how she landed such a career-defining gig too, as this was her very first international casting call!
To take on a completely unknown model is almost unheard of by Victoria’s Secret, as they’re notoriously picky. That being said, Walton looked very at home on the runway. Walton is signed to IMG models, which means you can definitely expect to see her face more from now on.
Maia Cotton
Maia Cotton is the latest Kiwi to join Victoria’s Secret model line-up. She’s already best friends with the likes of Gigi Hadid, however, and has a staggering 126k Instagram followers.
After being scouted by 62 Models when she was just 14, Cotton has since landed campaigns with American Eagle, Urban Outfitters, and Forever New. She also starred in Victoria’s Secret’s 2018 Pink campaign, so becoming a model for the runway show was the next logical step.
Lorena Rae
Lorena Rae is a German model who, although this is her first time walking for Victoria’s Secret, has already made headlines. This is due to the fact she was rumored to be dating Leonardo Di Caprio in 2017 – who is 20 years her senior!
The coupled were spotted on a few outings together and, although the rumor was never confirmed, this goes to show that Lorena Rae is one of the most beautiful people on earth – as that’s Di Caprio’s type!
Lorena has also already modeled for the likes of Nelly, Yamamay and even big fashion houses such as Versace and Hugo Boss.
View this post on Instagram
Iesha Hodges
Iesha Hodges has been touted as a new kind of ‘blonde bombshell’ who fits perfectly as a background for your mobile. With a bleached buzz cut and a gap between her teeth, Hodges goes against Victoria’s Secret’s conventional beauty standards – which is definitely a good thing!
Her quirky style and look has led her to be snapped for the likes of ASOS, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs, and one of Cardi B’s favorite designers, Christian Cowan. Hodges also manages her own YouTube channel, where she interacts with her fans in a casual and down-to-earth manner.
Mélie Tiacoh
Mélie Tiacoh was born in Paris but raised in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire. At this year’s VS show, she became not only the first Ivorian model to walk for the brand, but the first Guinean one too – as she is of mixed heritage. On finding out that she was to walk in the show, she told her Instagram followers that it was an honor to represent ‘Ivory Coast, Africa, and Diversity’.
This was not Tiacoh’s first time attending Victoria’s Secret casting. In fact, it was her fourth time attempting to become a VS model! Tiacoh has also worked with brands such as Mac, Dior, and Loquet, as well as starring on the cover of Life Magazine’s 10th-anniversary issue.
Yasmin Wijnaldum
Yasmin Wijnaldum has had an amazing four years. The now 20-year-old Dutch model only began working in 2014 – when she was just sixteen – yet in that time has racked up some serious campaigns.
After entering the Elite Model Look competition in 2014, she went on to star in the Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute Couture F/W 15 show, as well as Prada’s S/S 16 campaign. Wijnaldum has also graced the cover of ID magazine and was included in the Business of Fashion’s annual list of 500 people shaping the fashion industry.
Myrthe Bolt
Another new Dutch face in this year’s line-up, Myrthe Bolt has recently become one of the hottest runway models around. After making her debut for Miu Miu in their Spring 2017 show, she’s gone on to walk for the likes of Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Isabel Marant, and even Chanel.
At just 19 years of age, Bolt is also a medical student and has said that her studies are her top priority. Appearing on a Late Night chat show, she said that she evaluates her academic schedule before working out whether or not she can fit in modeling jobs.
Isilda Moreira
Isilda Moreira is a Portuguese model of Cape Verdean descent. She was scouted whilst in London on holiday when she was just 14 and she went on to make her Paris Fashion Week debut in 2017, walking for Moncler and Loewe.
On finding out that she would be walking in this year’s Victoria’s Secret’s show, Moreira told her Instagram followers ‘I can only feel more and more overwhelmed by having one of my lifetime dreams coming true’.
View this post on Instagram
Sofie Rovenstine
Sofie Rovenstine was born and raised in Tennessee, USA. She started out her modeling career by entering beauty pageants and was crowned Miss Tennessee in 2018. Rovenstine was also a contestant in Miss Teen USA 2018.
Rovestine said that she was ‘so so excited and honored to be able to announce that [she would] be walking in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2018.’ She also made headlines after blowing a kiss to performer Shawn Mendes on the runway!
View this post on Instagram
Sabah Koj
Sabah Koj was born was born in South Sudan, lived in Egypt for four years and then migrated to Australia at age 7 with her family. She told the press she was ‘more than proud to be representing South Sudan and Australia’ by walking in the show.
Koj has also recently modeled for Topshop, Rick Owens, Oscar de la Renta, and Giorgio Armani. She also has over 14.8 thousand Instagram followers, where she goes by the handle @iamsabaah.
Willow Hand
Willow Hand is an American model, who was first scouted at the age of 12! She is best known for opening Prada’s A/W fashion show at 16 years old and has since gone on to walk for many of the fashion industry’s hottest and most respected designers.
These include Prada, Gucci, Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Dolce and Gabbana. She has also starred in campaigns for Prada and Anna Sui, as well as being shot for Vogue, Allure and Dazed magazines.
Josie Canseco
Josie Canseco was raised in California, USA and is the daughter of Major League Baseball star, Jose Canseco. The Cuban-American model is 21 years of age, and has been described as the modeling world’s new ‘it girl’. It makes sense then, that she would walk for VS this year!
After the show, Canseco announced on Instagram that she would be ‘forever humbled and grateful to be part of the [Victoria’s Secret] family’. Canseco has also walked for Juicy Couture and Moschino and has worked on campaigns for Free People, Boohoo, and Galore magazine.
