Gigi Hadid is set to return to the Victoria's Secret runway on Oct. 18, when the 2026 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show gets underway at L.A.'s Sony Pictures Studios. The 31-year-old model is planning a sixth appearance, keeping her tied to the brand’s revived spectacle as it leans on familiar names and a returning Fantasy Bra.
Hadid’s sixth runway turn
Hadid made her debut in 2015 at age 20, after what she described as a long wait for the booking. “I tried out two or three times before I got it, so you can imagine what I felt when I got my first show,” she said in 2025, adding that “It's not what people think. It's not just about lingerie and looking hot.”
That line fits the brand’s current pitch better than the old one. The show is once again treating the runway as the product, not just the clothes, and Hadid remains one of the few models whose return can still be measured in repeat appearances rather than a single splashy booking.
From 2019 to 2024
The 2019 show was canceled amid criticism that Victoria's Secret was stuck in another era, and the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show came back under new leadership. That return pulled in a mix of veterans and newer faces, including Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Irina Shayk, Candice Swanepoel, Ashley Graham, Kate Moss, Lila Moss and Carla Bruni.
Heidi Klum has already framed the brand’s appeal in blunt terms, saying in 2024 that “I loved it always,” and adding, “I always wanted to wear the big wings.” The show’s pull still depends on that kind of memory: a runway event that once looked finished is now being rebuilt around recognisable names and a tighter visual identity.
Tyra Banks and the past
Tyra Banks has also kept the history visible. She said in 2021 that “First is lonely. But first is necessary,” and that “Within a 10 year span starting in 1995, I was the first Black @VictoriasSecret contract model ever. The first Black Victoria’s Secret Cover model.”
That backdrop gives the 2026 booking more weight than a routine return. Victoria's Secret is bringing back the Fantasy Bra this year as a hand-crafted piece made in collaboration with Jacob & Co., but the wearer has not been revealed. If the show wants the return to read as more than nostalgia, that reveal has to land with the same precision as the date and the venue.
