Victoria’s Secret runway show embraces 2020s nostalgia and innovation

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Victoria’s Secret held its second major runway show under new creative director Adam Selman, blending nostalgic early 2000s styles with modern influences and spotlighting its PINK line amid signs of sales recovery. The event proceeded despite protests over supplier labor issues, underscoring ongoing challenges even as the brand works to reclaim its market position through familiar yet refreshed designs.

Victoria’s Secret staged its latest runway show on Sunday, blending early 2000s nostalgia with contemporary touches under the creative direction of Adam Selman, who was appointed executive vice president and chief creative officer in 2025 after leaving Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty brand.

The event marked the company’s second major fashion presentation since Selman took charge amid a challenging period for the lingerie giant. Victoria’s Secret had suffered a steep decline in profits and reputation during the early 2020s, hindered by shifting retail landscapes and troubling revelations about the company’s former parent leadership, including former head Les Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. However, the brand has shown signs of recovery, reporting a 10 percent increase in net sales in the second quarter of 2026, signaling renewed consumer interest.

Sunday’s show retained several classic Victoria’s Secret elements such as angel wings and monochromatic lingerie, while incorporating diverse styles including country, boho, and urban influences. This season’s designs featured vibrant accessories inspired by the Carnival traditions of the West Indies and Brazil, as well as bias-cut slips that echoed early 2000s bohemian fashion trends still prevalent today.

The runway also showcased the PINK diffusion line with a distinctive mix of bedazzled jeans, branded bag charms, and bras worn as tops—an evident nod to current maximalist fashion trends. Some styling choices provided fresh spins on signature lingerie pieces; for instance, models layered multiple bras and panties, and paired bikini bottoms over boy shorts, creating playful visual contrasts. Accessories such as garters and stockings were given new interpretations, with model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wearing sheer nude stockings held up by thick white fabric bands reminiscent of men’s sock garters, while pop musician Tate McRae sported a garter belt connected to unconventional red thigh bands.

Despite recent protests outside the venue in remembrance of Paramasivam Pushpalatha, a Sri Lankan garment worker who died in 2025 after reportedly being denied medical leave at a factory supplying Victoria’s Secret, the show proceeded without disruption. The demonstration highlighted ongoing concerns about labor conditions in Victoria’s Secret’s supply chain.

While the show did not break ground with radical innovation, it reinforced the brand’s approach of offering accessible and familiar expressions of femininity and sensuality. This strategy aims to balance personal empowerment with the desire to appeal aesthetically, catering to a broad customer base seeking both comfort and style in lingerie.

The accompanying soundtrack featured Jade’s “Angel of My Dreams,” underscoring the message that Victoria’s Secret is reestablishing itself as a relevant player in the fashion industry’s competitive landscape.

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