The pink carpet is gone. Mostly. If you spent any time watching TV in the early 2000s, you remember the spectacle: giant wings, millions of dollars in Swarovski crystals, and a very specific, almost impossible physical standard. But when people search for victoria's secret models naked, they aren't usually looking for what you think. They're looking for the reality behind the airbrushing. They want to know what happened to the "Angels" when the cameras stopped rolling and the brand’s hyper-sexualized marketing met the reality of a post-Me Too world.
It was a weird era.
Models like Adriana Lima and Gisele Bündchen weren't just clothes horses; they were icons of a very specific, curated kind of "perfection" that felt increasingly out of touch. For years, the brand sold a version of sex appeal that was designed by men, for women to buy into, and eventually, the wheels fell off. It wasn't just about the outfits getting skimpier. It was about a culture that many former models now describe as grueling, exclusionary, and, honestly, a little bit toxic.
The Reality of the "Perfect" Body
Let's be real. The training camps for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show were legendary for all the wrong reasons. We aren't talking about a light jog. We’re talking about athletes—because that’s what these women were—subjecting themselves to liquid diets and two-a-day workouts just to fit into a sample size that seemed to shrink every year.
Former Angel Adriana Lima once famously admitted to The Telegraph that she stopped drinking liquids nine days before the show. Think about that. No water. Just to make sure her muscles popped and there was zero bloating. That is the victoria's secret models naked truth that the glossy magazines never showed. It was a high-stakes performance where the human body was treated like a piece of sculpture rather than a living organism.
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It worked for a while. The ratings were massive. But the cost was high.
Why the Wings Fell Off
By 2018, the cracks were everywhere. Ed Razek, the longtime marketing chief, made some comments to Vogue about why "transsexuals" or plus-sized models shouldn't be in the show because the show was a "fantasy."
Big mistake. Huge.
The backlash was instant. People didn't want the fantasy anymore; they wanted to see themselves. The "naked" reality of the brand was that it was stuck in 1999 while the rest of the world had moved on to 2019. Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty show didn't just compete with VS; it nuked it. While VS was busy measuring waistlines, Rihanna was celebrating every type of body imaginable. One felt like a party; the other felt like a restrictive club with a mean bouncer.
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The Rebrand: From Angels to "The VS Collective"
Victoria’s Secret eventually realized they were dying. They scrapped the wings. They brought in the "VS Collective," featuring women like Megan Rapinoe and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. It was a 180-degree turn.
Some people loved it. Others called it "woke-washing."
The brand basically had to strip itself down and start over. They started focusing on things like mastectomy bras and maternity wear. It was a massive shift from the days when the only thing that mattered was how a model looked in a push-up bra. But the transition hasn't been seamless. The company has struggled to find a middle ground between its "sexy" heritage and its new "empowerment" mission.
What Former Models Say Now
If you listen to the Fallen Angel podcast or watch the Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons documentary, the stories are pretty wild.
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- Erin Heatherton spoke out about the pressure to lose weight, saying it reached a point where she considered not eating at all.
- Bridget Malcolm shared videos of herself holding up a bra from her "VS days" and showing how much healthier she looked after leaving that environment.
- Bella Hadid, who left and then eventually returned to the brand after it changed leadership, noted that it was the first time she felt comfortable on a set with them.
It's a weirdly complex legacy. Many of these women became multimillionaires and household names because of the platform. But many also walked away with body dysmorphia and a deep-seated resentment toward the industry. You can’t really talk about the "naked" truth of the brand without acknowledging both sides of that coin.
The Economics of Skin
Business-wise, the old "sex sells" mantra stopped working because the definition of what is "sexy" evolved. It’s not just about being victoria's secret models naked or nearly naked in a catalog anymore. It’s about confidence, inclusivity, and—most importantly—comfort.
Investors noticed. L Brands (the former parent company) saw its stock price stumble as sales plummeted. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which used to be a global event, was canceled in 2019. It only recently returned in a "World Tour" format on Prime Video, which felt more like a documentary-style fashion film than the runway shows of the past.
They are trying to sell a soul now, not just a silhouette.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Consumer
The fashion industry has changed, and how we consume it should too. If you're looking at the history of these models or the brand itself, here’s how to navigate the modern landscape:
- Audit your feed: If following certain fitness or "angel" archetypes makes you feel like crap about your own body, hit unfollow. The imagery was designed to create a "fantasy," not a standard for daily life.
- Look for transparency: Support brands that show unretouched photos. Brands like Aerie or Savage X Fenty often show stretch marks, scars, and different body shapes.
- Understand the "Peak" vs. Reality: Recognize that the images seen on a Victoria's Secret runway were the result of months of extreme dieting, professional lighting, body makeup, and literal structural engineering. Nobody looks like that walking down the street—not even the models.
- Evaluate the "Why": When a brand rebrands, ask if they are changing their internal culture or just their marketing. Look at their executive boards and their size ranges, not just their Instagram ads.
The era of the untouchable "Angel" is over. What’s left is a more complicated, more human, and hopefully more inclusive version of what beauty actually looks like when the glitter is wiped away.