Ashley Graham represented the power of body positivity at the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
The model, 36, appeared in her first-ever fashion show for the brand on Tuesday, October 15. She strutted the runway in an all-black ensemble with a lace bodysuit and matching black robe, pairing the look with black heels.
Graham’s role on the runway comes after Victoria’s Secret faced backlash for its lack of inclusivity, leading to the cancelation of the event in 2019, an overhaul of the company and the revival of the fashion show this year.
Graham announced her part in the production via Instagram earlier this month. “First VS Fashion Show. I am over the moon excited because I am in my late 30s, I just had three children, and I am feeling so curvy and so sexy and my outfit is fire,” she said in the social media video. (Graham and her husband, Justin Ervin — who tied the knot in August 2010 — welcomed son Isaac in January 2020 and twin boys Malachi and Roman in January 2022.)
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Graham went on to explain why she decided to make her Victoria’s Secret runway debut this year.
“I’m most excited about representing so many curvy women of all shapes and sizes on the runway, and I’m just honored to be on the stage,” she said. “My expectations of this year’s show is for people to feel seen, for everyone to feel seen. I said yes to VS so that you could feel seen.”
In a backstage interview with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, Graham elaborated on her acceptance of the offer from the brand.
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“For me, it’s exciting because [the company’s] hope and dream is to go into extended sizes finally, and that’s why I said yes because they really are thinking about everyone,” she told the outlet. “I really like to be a woman of my word and make sure that the people that I line up with, the companies that I line up with are servicing the women who follow me that are larger.”
As for what she hoped viewers would get from her inclusion in the event, Graham shared, “There’s no one look for beauty. Perfection doesn’t exist. We are all humans living in bodies that I think are beautiful, and that’s what I hope Victoria’s Secret’s biggest takeaway is, is that every body should be serviced with lingerie, with pajamas, and it shouldn’t be just about sizing. It should be about everybody getting a chance to have it.”
