Supermodels Alex Consani and Valentina Sampaio made history as the first transgender women to walk the runway at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on Tuesday in New York.
“I’m trans, and I think it’s really important to have people like me on the runway being perceived as beautiful, and especially in a setting like this that’s always been very cis-oriented, it’s important to be bringing in a lot of different types of people and I’m just grateful that I was thought of, you know in that community,” Consani told WWD backstage before the show.
The model, who moonlights as an internet personality, was a bombshell in a shimmering silver set paired with plush, padded angel wings. Her look was accessorized with a silver chain belt and sky-high heels by Rene Caovilla featuring straps that coiled around her ankles.
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In contrast to Consani, Sampaio was stunning in an inky navy look. The first transgender woman to model for Victoria’s Secret’s, her mesh, crystal-studded skirt overlaid her satin lingerie. Her big, bow-like wings were balanced by her sexily teased and tousled hair.
Their runway debuts come as a major milestone for the lingerie label.
Hired in 2019, Brazilian model and actress Sampaio’s appointment came as the brand was criticized for comments made by Ed Razek, previously the chief marketing officer under former parent company L Brands, on transgender and plus-size women.
In 2020, an exposé on former parent L Brands in the New York Times alleged a “culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment.”
Since then, employees say things have shifted. In an interview with WWD in July, Sarah Sylvester, executive vice president of marketing, said that Victoria’s Secret has been looking at DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — in everything they do, from the runway to corporate culture.
In 2022, Emira D’Spain became the first Black transgender model to work with Victoria’s Secret. She arrived at this year’s show in an all-black lingerie ensemble from the brand, highlighting her ongoing collaboration with the lingerie giant.
