Reality star Kylie Jenner made a surprise Victoria's Secret runway debut on Sunday at the brand's fashion show in Culver City, California. She wore the Fantasy Bra, which hadn't appeared on the brand's runway since 2018. Jacob & Co. built it with 4,410 diamonds. At $50 million, it's the most valuable Fantasy Bra ever. Jenner, 29, is the first woman to wear it on the runway who was never a Victoria's Secret Angel. The brand scrapped the show after 2018, when ratings were low and critics called it sexist and not diverse. In 2021 it retired the Angels for a more inclusive ambassador program. Hillary Super took over as CEO in 2024. The Observer says she has brought back the brand's sex appeal while widening who counts as sexy. The show returned in 2024, and this was its third year back.

Kylie Didn't Earn the Fantasy Bra

Fans and a stylist say the bra belongs to career models, not to a celebrity with a big following.

Fans say Jenner didn't earn it. "This is so disrespectful to REAL models," one commenter wrote under the brand's Instagram post. Another comment with more than 10,000 likes read, "Victoria's Secret is dead. They ruined the show." Nicole Klementowicz is a stylist and the founder of The Refresh Atelier. She said the backlash is "particularly tied to celebrity, wealth and nepotism." She said Jenner has walked only two other runway shows. "Did [Kylie] only get the job because she is who she is?" Klementowicz asked.

Models used to work toward this bra. It was long treated as an honor for the brand's most experienced Angels, like Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks. Celebrity stylist Kim Appelt, author of Style for EveryBODY, called it an "Olympic gold medal for Victoria's Secret Angels." She said the criticism isn't necessarily about Jenner herself but "about what her selection represents." "It was something models worked toward, which is why I understand the reaction from longtime fans," she told The Mirror US.

A $50 million bra looks out of touch right now. Klementowicz said putting one of the world's richest celebrities in "this opulent, excessive bra can come across as tone-deaf to some consumers." British model Summer Nesbeth told BBC Newsbeat that the focus on the bra shows "how detached we are." "People can't eat, people can't afford to keep their lights on," she said.

But Picking Her Was the Smart Business Move

The brand and several marketers say a show this size needs a star who pulls in a huge audience.

She brings a huge audience. Victoria's Secret chief creative officer Adam Selman told Vogue that Jenner is a "cultural powerhouse." "Kylie really extends beyond fashion, beyond culture, beyond TV, beyond one singular thing," he said. "That's the exact same thing that we do." Jenner has 380 million Instagram followers. Selman said the Fantasy Bra "was one of the things that was requested the most from last year's show."

Brands now pick stars who draw attention. Social media and marketing expert Joel Marlinarson told BBC Newsbeat that Victoria's Secret engineered the moment well. He said Jenner represents "a new era of celebrity where brands are prioritising who's going to bring the most eyeballs, as opposed to who fits the cookie cutter definition of a model." "That's exactly what Victoria's Secret has done," he said.

Every angry comment promotes the show for free. Audrey Charlyes Jacquet is the founder of Maison Charlyes Jacquet. She told The Mirror US that "the Angels were the celebrities of their era. Kylie is the celebrity of this one." "Every hater with a microphone is doing the marketing for free," she said. "The backlash is the campaign."

And Bringing Back Sexy Is Working

The CEO and a fashion editor say the old glamour is back, with more kinds of women in it.

Sales are up, and so is the stock. Victoria's Secret changed its stock ticker to VSXY in June. "VSXY is a marker of who we are today," Super said. She described a company "celebrating sexy in all its forms." In September the company reported quarterly sales up 10% and raised its full-year forecast. "Our Path to Potential strategy is working," Super said then. The stock closed up about 3% on Monday, the day after the show.

This version of sexy includes older women. Cosmopolitan style editor Aiyana Ishmael wrote that the returning OG Angels were "the absolute pinnacle." They are "now all women of a certain age," she wrote. Veteran Angels Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio both walked. Ishmael called "hot has no expiration date" the first Victoria's Secret fantasy she's "been interested in in a while."

Still, Going Back to the Old Look Isn't a Plan

Brand strategists say the show leans on nostalgia instead of building something new.

Strategists say the brand is betting on nostalgia. Brand strategist Rachael Kay Albers told the Daily Mail that "nostalgia sells right now." She said the brand is asking itself "Is this going to rescue us?" and called the move "a Hail Mary." "We're watching them have an identity crisis out loud in front of us," Albers said.

The brand should modernize what made it famous. Kimberly Lovi, founder of Iconic Nation Media, said the 2021 rebrand was "a fundamental branding mistake." But she said the brand's "biggest opportunity isn't to return to the past. It's to modernize the magic that made the brand iconic."

Where This Lands

Many fans say Jenner got a prize that career models spent years working toward. Klementowicz ties the backlash to celebrity, wealth and nepotism, and Appelt says she understands why fans are upset. Selman says Jenner's reach is exactly what a show this big needs. Jacquet says the backlash itself is the marketing. Super points to sales up 10% and a raised forecast, and the stock closed up about 3% the day after the show. Ishmael says the return of older Angels makes this version of sexy worth watching. Albers calls the whole show a nostalgia bet. Lovi says the brand needs to modernize instead of looking back.

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