Age 32 feels too early for retirement in most professions. But in 2005, that was the age Victoria's Secret Fashion Show model Tyra Banks took off her Angel wings for good. She was shifting her focus to her burgeoning TV career, she said. Had she not also been one of the oldest models in the runway cast at the time, new priorities could have read as the only reason for her departure.
But we know what went on behind-the-scenes at the lingerie behemoth in the early 2000s by now, and what forces could imply that 32 was, somehow, getting too "old" for the runway. Before Victoria's Secret canceled its annual fashion show in 2019—an extravaganza known for over-the-top set dressings and outfits so skimpy, they hardly counted as lingerie— "sexy" had narrow definition and an expiration date. (At least in terms of who could model; the brand doesn't discriminate regarding its shoppers' ages.) The runway's casting glorified youth and thinness, sometimes at the expense of the models' physical and mental health; many of the breakout models were only 18 in their first shows. Every leg was toned and every stomach was flat—this was not a place for curves. So a woman in her 40s or 50s, with visible stretch marks and wrinkles walking alongside them? No one could conceive of it at the height of the brand's powers.
