I wanted nothing more than to turn on my television and return to the adolescent joy I had for this show, but I’m older now and I realize that while I thought being an angel meant something back then, the real meaning was a legacy of maintaining unrealistic and exclusive beauty standards, which the company continues to benefit from even as they try to expand their reach. Due to my endless research and deep dives into this world, I was shown TikTok videos on the Victoria’s Secret Runway Show. I was so deep in knowledge that I found myself on an unknown side of the internet: the pro-ana faithful who in 2024 still want to perpetuate the narrative that the VSFS can only be great if thin is the default. “Victoria’s Secret LISTEN, we don’t want plus size models, we don’t want men on the USA runway, PLEASE LISTEN, we want the old iconic shows from the 2000s.” Hundreds of comments repeat the same thing: “Really, it’s not about being inclusive, it’s about looking good.”

While the original USA ethos created these believers, the new and “improved” Victoria’s Secret team cannot be held responsible for these random internet people spreading this toxic narrative. I’ll take their word for it that the team wanted to produce a more inclusive show, representative of a more inclusive brand. But the proof is in the pudding, and apart from a few ‘plus’ models (which, it’s worth noting, mostly fit straight sizes), the runway was overwhelmingly thin.

We were treated to the angelic debut of Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham, but these beautiful and beloved models looked distinctly different from their thinner peers. They were more covered up and wore short dresses and bodysuits, compared to the string bikini underwear and bras of models like the Hadid sisters. The highlight of the evening for me was seeing Graham’s bare thighs on the catwalk, visible for the whole world to see – and something Graham himself has been advocating for almost a decade. But for a show that was positioned as more inclusive than the brand’s past, it felt like a blow that not only were there very, very few plus models, but that they weren’t given the same treatment when it was their time to shine.