Victoria’s Secret Loves Moms Now: Has the Brand Truly Evolved?

Without question, inclusivity remains a controversial topic when Victoria’s Secret (VS) comes up. Since the brand’s shift toward progressiveness, any lurker who scrolls through conversational platforms can easily find the internet’s clear divide about the VS Angels who walk the runways. On one side, there are those who celebrate the wider range of representation; on the other, critics call for preserving the models “unattainably beautiful”.

Frankly, the debate has yet to find an agreeable conclusion. But this year, tongues are certain to wag again as VS offered another layer to the conversation: motherhood.

Strutting For Two

The brand’s recent return to the runway cements their continued commitment to a “new” Victoria’s Secret—one that claims to embrace diverse womanhood. However, no move is more visually arresting, more unequivocally clear, than VS Angel Jasmine Tookes opening the show with a prominent late-trimester baby bump.

It’s a first. In years past, pregnant models like Irina Shayk or Alessandra Ambrosio walked for VS in their early stages with their stomachs carefully concealed or unaddressed. Tookes, by contrast, is nine months pregnant, and the brand chose to feature her front and center. For a company that once sold a fantasy for the male gaze, this is a bold acceptance of motherhood in full form.

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So, how many mothers were actually there? More than in the brand’s previous era, but the inclusion of Tookes’ visibly pregnant body is the real progressive metric here. Thus, the viewers are met with a confrontational question: Can a woman be an aspirational symbol of beauty and desire while also being a mother, or actively on her way to becoming one? For the new VS, the answer is a resounding yes.

Progress is Good PR

The immediate, cynical take is simple. This is a shrewd business move. The target demographic of VS customers from the 1990s and 2000s are now the mothers of today, and the brand is attempting to win back their market share by validating their life stage. To a jaded eye, the inclusion of a pregnant woman is just another square on the PR checklist.

But here’s the thing: Sometimes, performative progress still results in actual progress.

For a brand built on exclusionary body standards, simply showcasing a non-flat stomach—a body in the process of profound, complex change—is a powerful symbolic step. It’s a tacit acknowledgement that womanhood is multifaceted and does not end or become less valuable upon motherhood. When a global powerhouse like Victoria’s Secret puts a pregnant woman on a pedestal of glamour and desirability, it normalizes that image.

The brand’s initial step was to change the models on the runway. The necessary, harder step is to prove that their commitment to mothers goes beyond one spectacular moment of visible diversity and extends into their long-term brand messaging.

Jasmine Tookes walking the runway was a win for representation, and that powerful image will certainly stick. But until Victoria’s Secret’s marketing and manufacturing align with this progressive promise, we should remain cautiously optimistic. It’s a positive evolution, yes, but the brand still has miles to walk before we can confirm this isn’t just a new, glossy filter on an old, restrictive fantasy.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES, VICTORIA’S SECRET (via Reddit)