Gigi Hadid Is Hitting the Victoria’s Secret Pink Carpet for the Sixth Time, and This Year’s Show Has One Twist Nobody Saw Coming
The wings are back. On Sunday, October 18, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returns for its third straight year since the brand’s much talked about comeback, and one of its most famous faces is leading the charge. Gigi Hadid, 31, is set to walk the pink carpet at Sony Studios in Culver City, California, for her sixth appearance at the event, capping a decade long relationship with the lingerie giant that started when she
was just 20.
And this year’s show is not simply a greatest hits reel. Between a brand new Angel who earned her wings through a public casting series, an all-female music lineup, and the show’s first Los Angeles staging in nearly twenty years, the 2026 edition might be the most interesting one since the return from the brand’s hiatus.
When and where to watch the 2026 show
The 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airs live on Sunday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT, which is early Monday morning for viewers in Pakistan. Fans can stream it free on Victoria’s Secret’s official YouTube channel and across the brand’s Instagram and TikTok pages. A Pink Carpet pre-show, hosted by TV personalities Scott Evans and Zanna Roberts Rassi, starts at 7 p.m. ET.
The venue choice is a statement of its own. After two years in New York City since the 2024 comeback, the show is moving to Sony Studios in Culver City, marking its first Los Angeles edition since 2007. The City of Angels backdrop, as the brand’s own promos put it, feels like the right stage for a show that has always sold fantasy as much as fashion.
Gigi Hadid’s decade with the wings
Hadid’s Victoria’s Secret story goes back more than a decade. She made her runway debut for the brand in 2015 at age 20, returned in 2016 and 2018, and was part of the historic 2024 comeback show that ended the brand’s six year hiatus. Her appearance tonight marks her sixth pink carpet walk, and it cements her as one of the defining faces of the brand’s second act.
It has been quite a year for the supermodel. She also made headlines this month when she and Bradley Cooper, 51, were spotted wearing matching gold bands in Paris, continuing one of Hollywood’s most watched relationships. But tonight is all business: the runway, the wings, and a global audience watching her return to the brand that helped make her a star.
The lineup: returning icons, new faces, and a surprise Angel
The 2026 cast mixes veteran Angels with the industry’s current heavyweights. Confirmed models include Adriana Lima, the brand’s longest running Angel, who returned in 2024 after a six year absence and walked again in 2025; Candice Swanepoel; Ashley Graham; Paloma Elsesser; Imaan Hammam; Anok Yai; Abby Champion; Alex Consani; Amelia Gray; Grace Elizabeth; Joan Smalls; Liu Wen; Elsa Hosk; Precious Lee; Cindy Bruna; Devyn Garcia; Gabi Moura; Jordan Leftwich; and Yoon Young Bae.
The real wild card is the brand’s newest Angel, who will debut tonight. Earlier this year, Victoria’s Secret held open casting calls in several American cities, documented in the YouTube series “Angels Among Us,” which followed aspiring models through auditions, training, fittings, and eliminations. The winner earns an IMG Models contract and walks the runway tonight, a reality TV style twist that gives this year’s show a genuine surprise the cameras cannot spoil in advance.
Last year’s show set a high bar
The 2025 edition, held in New York, brought plenty of memorable moments. WNBA star Angel Reese became the first professional athlete ever to walk the Victoria’s Secret runway, and Jasmine Tookes proudly showed off her baby bump on the catwalk. The music bill featured Missy Elliott and K-pop sensations Twice. This year has a lot to live up to, and the brand seems determined to top it.
An all-female music lineup takes the stage
True to recent editions, the 2026 show features an all-women musical roster. Confirmed performers are Megan Thee Stallion, KATSEYE, Tate McRae, and Megan Moroney, a mix of global pop, K-pop, hip hop, and country.
Megan Thee Stallion, who posted about the announcement on social media with the words “my dream has finally come true,” is expected to deliver a high energy performance, and the brand has hinted she may also take a runway walk of her own. She has been a fashion week fixture lately, and she even presented an award to her own glam team at the InStyle Imagemaker Awards just days ago. Tate McRae, fresh off headlining Lollapalooza for the first time this year, brings the pop energy, while KATSEYE and Megan Moroney round out a lineup that spans genres on purpose.
Who else will be on the pink carpet
Beyond the models and performers, expect plenty of Hollywood to turn up for the front row. USA Today reports that Lisa Rinna and Delilah Belle Hamlin will be there to support Amelia Gray as she takes the runway, while Patrick Schwarzenegger is expected to cheer on Abby Champion and Dylan Sprouse will support his wife Barbara Palvin. In recent shows, surprise runway moments from athletes and Hollywood stars have become a tradition, so the show almost always has one name nobody predicted.
For red carpet fashion fans, tonight also continues a packed October. The 2026 Academy Museum Gala just delivered a night of couture moments from Taylor Swift in custom Dior and Kim Kardashian in archival Balenciaga, and the Victoria’s Secret pink carpet tends to deliver its own brand of spectacle.
Why this show matters
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show began in 1995 and was canceled in 2019 amid criticism that the brand was stuck in another era. Its 2024 return under new leadership leaned into a broader, more diverse cast of veterans and newcomers, and the comeback has now lasted three consecutive years. Whether the 2026 edition can turn a successful comeback into a lasting institution is the real story behind the wings.
With Gigi Hadid back on the pink carpet, a new Angel about to be revealed live, and an all-female lineup on the mic, tonight’s show has all the ingredients of a night people will be talking about tomorrow. Fashion lovers can also check out Margot Robbie’s stunning turn in Chanel’s jasmine fields while they wait for the stream to start.
Stream the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show live on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, October 18. The pink carpet pre-show begins at 7 p.m. ET.
