Victoria’s Secret rolled out the pink carpet at the Manhattan Center on Wednesday night. The brand hosted a party to celebrate its new Fashion show, reimagined in video format as “The Tour,” and while the Victoria’s Secret runway of 2023 looks quite different from its heyday, one aspect remained the same: there was plenty of lingerie on display. And, as an unexpected upside, the unofficial dress code was ideal for the nearing 100-degree weather. 

“The brand comes from a tumultuous history, for sure,” said Priyanka Chopra, commending the brand’s recent pivot. “There was a time when the brand told people what women should look like, and I think now what they’re trying to do is champion people and individuals to be as they are.” 

Like many in the crowd, Victoria’s Secret was a formative brand presence for Chopra. “I turned 16, and I remember my whole family was around me,” the actress said. “For my 16th birthday, my aunt bought me my first Victoria’s Secret lingerie pair. It was in front of my parents and everyone and I was most mortified at 16 to be like, ‘This is lace!’ Kept it, wore it — many, many times over.”

“I remember going into Victoria’s Secret with my mom and being so enamored by the glitter and bras and panties and lingerie,” said “What It Is” rapper Doechii, who was gearing up to perform later in the evening. “So to be here in it, finally as a woman, it feels like a manifestation.”

The crowd contained many veteran VS angels including Adriana Lima, Imaan Hammam, Candice Swanepoel, Taylor Hill, Lily Aldridge and Gigi Hadid, who narrates the brand’s Tour video. 

“I have always loved all the supermodels. I don’t know what girl doesn’t,” said Chloe Fineman, who donned a bra under an open blazer. “Even just seeing Adriana Lima just now, I was like — oh! I just scooped my jaw off the floor.”

The crowd was also filled with many of the brand’s recent collaborators, including Aaron Rose Philip, a transgender model who uses a wheelchair.

“I love VS because they’ve really stepped it up to where at this point in their journey as a brand, they’re so accepting to everyone,” she said.

Adwoa Aboah, who appears in the Tour video, mulled the new era of the iconic Victoria’s Secret Angel wings.

“We had this wing moment, where we all saw the wings,” said the model, recounting her time on set in Barcelona. “There’s this idea that when Victoria’s Secret decided that they wanted a change that no one wanted to have the wings anymore. But actually, there’s something to say about who’s wearing the wings. I saw girls — trans girls, Black girls, bigger girls, Asian — I saw so many different girls trying on these wings, walking in Victoria’s Secret clothes, and that was an amazing moment for me,” she added. “Because what’s important is how can we redefine sexiness, whatever the word is, whatever we associate with underwear, how can we redefine that to feel more like it relates to us, instead of something that’s just thrown onto us by mass media.”

Inside the pink-lit venue, Naomi Campbell appeared on the venue’s balcony to recite a poem written by one of the “Victoria’s Secret 20,” a group of worldwide creatives recruited to contribute to the brand’s video. “First rule about this planet is: Don’t look a star in the eye if you still want to live,” the model said.

Afterward, Hadid introduced a 12-minute excerpt of video.

“The goal was to give a new generation of creatives from around the world the opportunity to tell their stories and see their creations brought to life on the world stage,” Hadid said. “The platform? The VS show.”