Angel Reese is breaking boundaries. The WNBA star became the first professional athlete to walk the beloved Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway, wearing two stunning outfits for the occasion.
Reese is a 23-year-old player from the Chicago Sky basketball team. She joined supermodels like Bella and Gigi Hadid on the stage in a year where the brand is welcoming more diversity, including women who were pregnant, plus-sized, trans, and of different ages.
In a backstage interview, Reese revealed that she "manifested" this moment last year, when she was sitting on the sidelines at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
“I posted on my (Instagram) Story last year, when I was here at the show, watching front row. I said, ‘I’m gonna be a Victoria’s Secret model one day,’” she said in an interview with CNN. “I didn’t know it was gonna come this fast.”
Reese praised the other women participating in the show and shared how special it was for all types of women to feel included.
“Everybody looks different, but they’re all beautiful,” she said. “(That’s) the inclusivity of being a Victoria’s Secret model and knowing that you can look beautiful in many different shades, sizes, lengths, heights — tall, short — you can be here.”
When it comes to her prep, Reese approached the fashion show as she would any basketball game. “It’s the same — you trust your work,” she said. “I hired a modeling coach to perfect my walk. You can ask everybody here, I walked yesterday and it was together. I’m really happy and I’m excited.”
A new era for Victoria's Secret
This year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show marked a new era for the brand, highlighting female performers like Madison Beer, Missy Elliott, and Karol G, athletes like Reese and Sunisa Lee, and beloved VS icons like the Hadid sisters, Candice Swanepoel, and Adriana Lima.
The show was attended by all manner of notorious guests, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Patrick Schwarzenegger (whose wife, Abby Champion, was one of these year's angels), Chloe Sevigny, and more.
While Victoria's Secret has had its ups and downs, it's clear that the models and figures involved in the show are honored to be a part of it and can't wait to see in which direction the brand will go next.