Angel Reese turned heads on Wednesday night, carrying her basketball poise onto the runway. She made history as the first professional athlete to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The Chicago Sky forward joined the brand’s storied “Wings Reveal” lineup in Brooklyn.
Backstage, Reese spoke with quiet confidence: “It was destined for me,” she said. “This is for me. I’m so happy to be here with so many amazing models and women. The team has been amazing. I’m so excited.” Her runway approach was all about preparation: “I walk, sleep, hoop,” she quipped. “And I hoop, sleep, walk.”
At 6-foot-3, Reese wore a pink floral lingerie set with delicate blossoms and lace. A dramatic feathered stole draped over her arms. Over that, she donned the signature white angel wings, signaling her full initiation into the show’s iconic style. Her walk was framed by the rhythmic beat of Lumidee’s “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh).” This created a bridge between athletic energy and fashion spectacle.
Reese arrives after a decorated collegiate and pro career. As a national champion at LSU and 2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, she’s already a familiar name in women’s basketball. Now, her fashion show debut underscores how her star power extends beyond the court.
Celebrity stylist Law Roach has styled Zendaya and Celine Dion. He stood on the pink carpet, reflecting on Reese’s rapid transformation. “One of her biggest dreams was to walk this show,” he said. “We had a conversation. I told her, ‘I don’t think that’s a big dream at all.’ For that to happen in a year or less is stunning. She looks amazing—hair, makeup, presence. She’s ready and excited. That makes me the most proud.”
The 2025 Victoria’s Secret show was livestreamed on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Prime Video. This signaled the brand’s pivot from traditional televised spectacle to digital-first engagement. Musical stars were featured throughout the evening: Madison Beer, K-pop group TWICE, Karol G, and Missy Elliott all took the stage. Gigi and Bella Hadid, veteran Angels like Adriana Lima, and new faces such as Barbie Ferreira and Quenlin Blackwell rounded out the cast.
Reese’s inclusion nods to a deeper strategic shift at Victoria’s Secret. The brand was once criticized for rigid beauty standards and its narrow, slim, White imagery. Now it is reworking its identity. In recent years, it launched the VS Collective. These ambassadors promote gender equality, body positivity, and diversity. Athletes such as Megan Rapinoe and skier Eileen Gu joined that collective. Reese is the first to take a literal walk in the show.
In her statements, Reese tied symbolism to representation. “Everybody looks different, but they’re all beautiful,” she told CNN ahead of the event. That’s the inclusivity of being a Victoria’s Secret model: you can look beautiful in many different shades, sizes, lengths, and heights. Tall or short, you can be here. She also acknowledged her conversations with CEO Hillary Super, who is leading Victoria’s Secret’s reinvention, as a catalyst. “She really told me, ‘You can be here. You’re an athlete —you have the body —and you look amazing. You’re really, really confident.’”
Reese’s runway performance was no afterthought. Under a runway coach’s guidance, she drilled her walk and studied footage of top models. She learned from Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, and Adriana Lima. She refined gestures until they became her own. As Reese explained, “Tyra does a nice little bounce; Naomi’s more fierce. I’m not really emulating the exact walk, but more the gestures and mannerisms—small things, like a little smize.”
Her presence comes at an inflection point. Once a major television event, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was canceled in 2019 due to declining viewership and criticism about its standards. However, the 2024 revival showed promise, and the 2025 edition leaned into inclusivity while keeping spectacle. For Reese, this night was a strategic step toward owning her narrative as both an athlete and a cultural influencer.
She laid bare her sense of destiny: “I’m not going to shy away from looking like this, because I work my ass off for this body. Being sexy is something that I love and always embrace.” In one bold move, Angel Reese bridged sport and glamour. She reminded us that ambition need not be confined. Sometimes the wings that matter most are those we earn ourselves.
