From Angels to audiences: Why Victoria's Secret put Kylie Jenner in the Fantasy Bra

Victoria's Secret put its most symbolic garment on a newcomer this year. Kylie Jenner, the reality star and founder of Kylie Cosmetics, made a surprise runway debut at the brand's show in Los Angeles on October 18, wearing the Fantasy Bra, a piece historically reserved for its best-known Angels.

In the week that followed, conversations around Jenner alone generated 129.4 million dollars in media impact value (MIV) for Victoria's Secret, according to Launchmetrics data. American jewellery house Jacob & Co., which created the 50 million dollar bra with the brand, gained 18.5 million dollars in MIV.

For brands, the most telling figure is the smallest one. Jenner's best-performing Instagram post generated 2.1 million dollars, less than 2 percent of the total, which suggests the value came from the coverage and commentary her appearance triggered rather than from her own channels. Casting her was, in effect, a media decision.

Buying the conversation, not the follower count

Victoria's Secret chief creative officer Adam Selman made the logic explicit, describing Jenner as "an unexpected talent who has a massive following and massive cultural impact". Jenner has around 381 million Instagram followers, yet the Launchmetrics split shows the larger return came from what others said about her.

That matches Launchmetrics' wider research, which found that 77 percent of the MIV generated by brand ambassadorships comes from the conversations surrounding them. During fashion's biggest moments, media voices still drive an average of 70 percent of total MIV.

The stakes are higher now that the show has no broadcaster. This year it streamed free on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, so reach had to be earned; peak viewership across livestreams reached 3.64 million, up 32.9 percent on 2025, according to Streams Charts.

Heritage for credibility, newcomers for reach

The show was a mix of career models and new faces from outside modelling. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley made her first Victoria's Secret appearance in 16 years, and veteran Angels including Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel and Alessandra Ambrosio walked alongside newcomers such as Washington Spirit footballer Trinity Rodman and Solange Omon, winner of the brand's open casting series 'Angels Among Us'.

Beneath the cast sits a creator base. The VS & Pink Creator Program has more than 16,000 members, from loyal customers to established influencers, and 'Angels Among Us' drew more than 100,000 social media applicants and over 1.7 billion impressions, according to the company.

The trade-off is prestige. Comments calling Jenner's casting disrespectful to professional models drew thousands of likes on the brand's Instagram, a reminder that an honour handed out for reach rather than tenure can dilute what made it valuable.

A wider budget shift, with limits

Victoria's Secret is following the money. US creator ad spend is forecast to reach 44 billion dollars in 2026, more than three times the 2021 level and growing nearly four times faster than the media industry overall, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. British consumer goods group Unilever said in 2025 that it would put half of its media spend into social channels and work with 20 times more influencers.

Audiences, however, are moving away from the biggest names. In 2026 research by US youth insights firm YPulse, 73 percent of 13 to 39-year-olds said they trust smaller creators more than big influencers, and 62 percent said they are tired of seeing the same big names everywhere.

What it means for sales

Since chief executive officer Hillary Super took charge in September 2024, the company has paired bigger marketing moments such as the show with a sharper focus on bras and fewer promotions. The first quarter of 2026 marked a fourth consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth, with net sales up 15 percent, followed by a 10 percent rise to 1.61 billion dollars in the second quarter.

Analysts at American bank Bank of America who visited a Los Angeles store after this year's show reported frequent sell-outs of Fashion Show merchandise. The quarter that includes the show has yet to be reported.

The Fantasy Bra once crowned a long career on the Victoria's Secret runway. This year it served a different purpose: starting a conversation that heritage Angels, a celebrity and thousands of creators could carry far beyond the show itself. The Angels are still there, but the audience now has a part to play too.