Victoria's Secret Turns Its Fashion Show Into a Fan Event

Victoria's Secret will stream its fashion show globally on YouTube and its social channels on Sunday, Oct. 18, from Los Angeles, then host its first-ever post-show TikTok Live — the clearest signal yet of how the brand wants marketers and creators to treat the event as a participatory fan platform rather than a broadcast.

The show is the second under chief marketing and customer officer Elizabeth Preis, who joined the company in May 2025. Her brief is explicit: rebuild one of fashion's most-watched properties into something communal and accessible.

What is changing this year?

After years of rebuilding its image following criticism of its former format, Victoria's Secret is reshaping the show around fan participation. The shift includes:

• Ticket drops that open the previously invitation-only event to the public
• A nationwide search for a new Angel
• Global streaming on YouTube and the brand's own social channels
• A first post-show TikTok Live immediately after the runway

That last item matters most for social practitioners. A TikTok Live following a globally streamed runway gives the brand a second engagement window — and gives creators and fans a real-time space to react, comment and shape the conversation after the main broadcast ends.

What does the CMO say?

Preis told ADWEEK that the redesign came from watching how fans behaved last year. After observing how audiences gathered together to watch the 2025 event, she said, the brand wanted to "make sure this year was much more participatory as a night of fun and friendship."

That is an official statement of intent from the marketing chief, not creator speculation. The concrete proof points — public tickets, the Angel search, the TikTok Live — align with her description, though the brand has not yet released engagement or reach targets for the event.

Why does this matter for marketers?

The move reflects a broader pattern in brand-owned media: legacy spectacles are being rebuilt as community moments. For practitioners, the implications are practical:

• Owned streaming plus platform-native live formats extend a single tentpole into a multi-hour engagement window
• Ticketing a formerly closed event converts passive viewers into invested attendees
• A public casting search generates months of organic pre-show content before the runway itself

The full reach and engagement results will only be measurable after Sunday's stream and the TikTok Live that follows, so any early claims about audience size should be treated as unverified until the brand publishes figures.

For a brand still mid-turnaround — with a new marketing chief barely six months into the role — this year's show doubles as a test of whether fan-first mechanics can restore the cultural weight the event once carried.

If the Oct. 18 broadcast and its TikTok Live deliver strong live engagement, expect more brands to pair globally streamed tentpoles with platform-native after-shows in 2026.