Key Facts
Victoria’s Secret World Tour, which will stream on Amazon Prime, will feature fashion designs and art by 20 creative professionals from around the world, musical performances by Doja Cat and Sabrina Carpenter, and documentaries about the artists and designers.
Many of the brand’s famous models will return, including Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel and Gigi Hidad, but the brand has interspersed their cast of traditional «angels» with more diverse names that include South Sudanese model Adut Akech, transgender DJ Honey Dijon and plus-size French singer Yseult.
The clothes in the fashion show won’t be mass produced and the art won’t be sold or used by the brand beyond the film, a move meant to «give the women as big a platform as possible while receiving nothing in return,” o the New York Times.
The cancelation of the 2019 Victoria’s Secret fashion show, broadcast yearly on network television, came amid several years of controversies for the brand: Australian supermodel Robyn Lawley in 2018 called for a boycott on the brand for «telling women there is only one kind” of beautiful body, parent company L Brands’ CEO Les Wexner’s Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in 2019, and a 2020 investigation by the New York Times said the brand had fostered a “culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment.”
U.S. model Jasmine Tookes presents the $3 million 2016 fantasy bra during the Victoria’s Secret … fashion show.
AFP via Getty Images
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show[]
Behati has walked in 10 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows. She has been an Angel since 2009. She missed the 2016 show and the 2017 show due to her pregnancies.
Behati walked in Segment 3: Think Pink.
Behati walked in Segment 4: PINK Planet.
Behati walked in Segment 3: PINK Planet.
Behati walked in Segment 3: Game On and Segment 6: PINK.
Behati walked in Segment 2: Super Angels and Segment 6: Club PINK.
Behati walked in Segment 2: Dangerous Liaisons, Segment 3: Calendar Girls, and Segment 6: Angels In Bloom.
Behati walked in Segment 1: British Invasion, Segment 2: Shipwrecked, and Segment 6: Snow Angels.
Behati walked in Segment 1: Gilded Angels, Segment 5: Fairy Tale, and Segment 6: Angel Ball.
Behati walked in Segment 1: Boho Psychedelic and Segment 6: Firework.
Behati walked in Segment 1: Glam Royale and Segment 6: Downtown Angel.
Key Background
The first Victoria’s Secret fashion show was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1995. Photos from the event show a no-frills runway with models in the brand’s signature slips and push-up bras, which stayed largely the same until angel wings became the now-iconic focal point in 1999—the same year Tyra Banks famously walked the show with a billowing silver cape at her back. From there, the show’s production value skyrocketed and the brand’s core group of models became household names, including Banks, Gisele Bündchen and Heidi Klum, who was serenaded down the runway by her then-husband Seal in 2005. The show made its network television broadcast debut on ABC in 2001 and became an almost yearly event with the goal of topping itself every year—the wings got bigger, the lingerie more expensive and the musical acts more famous. Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande are among those who’ve performed.
Karolina Kurkova, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen and Adriana Lima.
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Who says Kiwis don’t have wings? Meet the New Zealand models who have graced the Victoria’s Secret catwalk.
The countdown is on for the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Forty-six stunning models will sashay down the runway for Victoria’s Secret alongside the fourteen VS Angels. There will be many new faces (and bods) at this year’s show including Winnie Harlow, Josie Canseco, Sadie Newman, Mayowa Nicholas, Iesha Hodges and our very own Maia Cotton!
In celebration of another New Zealand beauty nabbing herself a spot in one of the biggest fashion shows of the year, here is every New Zealand model that has ever walked in a Victoria’s Secret Show…
Stella Maxwell
This blonde bombshell is the epitome of ‘supermodel’. Since becoming an official Victoria’s Secret Angel in 2015, Stella has received many accolades for her work; most notably being crowned ‘No1 Hottest Woman’ in 2016 by Maxim magazine. Born in Belgium to Irish parents, Stella’s upbringing involved a lot of jet-setting around the world due to her father’s role as the Head of Delegation for the European Commission. After settling in NZ, Stella attended Queen Margaret College in Wellington before studying at the University of Otago where she was discovered by Aliana McDaniel. Stella first walked for Victoria’s Secret in 2014 and has walked every year since alongside VS royalty such as Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima and Candice Swanepoel.
Jessica Clarke
Jessica got her start in the modelling scene at age 15 and by the time she turned 17 she had walked the prestigious runways of Milan, Paris, New York and London. Hailing from Palmerston North, Jessica was the first New Zealander to walk for Victoria’s Secret in 2011. Her humble beginnings have helped her shine in her professional work, “I had a really rooted upbringing, so I always stayed genuine, luckily I have my family who always shoot me down if I get too cocky and my friends from Palmerston North.” Since walking for Victoria’s Secret, Jessica’s modelling career has taken a more commercial focus and she recently featured on the cover of UK Tatler magazine for its February 2018 edition.
WATCH: All the action from the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
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Georgia Fowler
After being signed to her first agency at age 12, Georgia has gone on to conquer the fashion world. From walking for Balmain, Miu Miu and Alberta Feretti, to featuring in French Vogue and most recently gracing the cover of Fashion Quarterly’s Happiness Issue, it seems Georgia has done it all. She recently announced that she will be returning to the Victoria’s Secret runway this year for a third time; “honoured to be walking the Victoria Secret show for the third year… THANK YOU for seeing my dedication and realizing my dream once again”.
Georgia’s next big project comes with all the glitz and glam afforded to models of her stature; hosting TVNZ 2’s Project Runway New Zealand. The show was made famous by Victoria’s Secret Heidi Klum and we know Georgia is going to do the supermodel proud, “It’s important to me that I continue to upskill and grow as a person, so I’m ready for any new career opportunities that arise.”
Maia Cotton
As the most recent New Zealander to be added to the prestigious line up of Victoria’s Secret models, it’s safe to say Maia was beyond stoked with the news; “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined I would get the opportunity to cast, let alone confirm the show of a lifetime…I am on a cloud right now”. At just 19 years old the stunning brunette has had an incredible career so far, having graced the pages of many of New Zealand’s magazines, including sister brand Miss FQ, and featuring in shoots for Urban Outfitters, Tigerlily and American Eagle.
In true millennial style, Maia shot to stardom thanks to her Instagram savvy; she has amassed 91k followers on the social platform. From sizzling selfies to editorial shoots and candid shots, Maia’s striking features help her stand out from the crowd.
Words: Courtney Smith
Photos: Getty Images
Biography[]
She was born in South Africa, but raised in Grootfontein, Namibia. Her father was contracted to work in South Africa before she was born, but when she was three years old her family moved back to Namibia. She is the only child of father Louis Francois «Boet» Prinsloo, who is a church minister, and mother, Magda (née Rossouw), who runs a bed and breakfast. Her family are Afrikaners and she grew up speaking Afrikaans as her native language; she was educated in English.
She attended Grootfontein Secondary School and left after Grade 9 to pursue modeling.
Career beginnings
Her modeling career began when she was discovered while vacationing in Cape Town, South Africa with her grandparents. «We went to the grocery store after church and this guy came up to me and asked if I was a model and wrote his number on a piece of paper…»
Personal life
She began dating Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine in 2012. They were married on July 19, 2014, in Mexico. The couple has three children, daughters Dusty Rose (born September 21, 2016 (age 7)) and Gio Grace (born February 15, 2018 (age 5)) and an unnamed son (born January 28, 2023 (age 0)).
victoriassecret.com[]
Favorite place in the world?Africa and home.
If you were a spice, which would you be?I grew up on this seasoning called aromat. That’s what I would be!
The 5 things you can’t live without?My family, my friends, water, food and sunshine.
What haven’t you done yet that you wish you could?I would like to start an initiative to stop shark finning and poaching of animals. It truly breaks my heart.
What did you eat for breakfast?Avocado on toast, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Morning or night person?Night. Not really a morning person. Unless it’s my birthday or Christmas.
Righty ot lefty?Righty.
Pink or red?Red.
Chocolate or vanilla?Both, seriously.
Boxers or briefs?Boxer briefs.
The most glamorous part of your job?Having the opportunity to travel to some of the most exotic and beautiful placed around the globe, meeting new incredible people all of the time and experiencing things I never thought I would.
The least glamorous part of your job?4 am call times, delayed flights and spending my days in an airport. Not so glamorous.
