Victoria's Secret Models Embrace Their Natural Hair

For years Victoria's Secret models had long, shiny, voluminous hair. It’s as if there was an unwritten rule that they had to have the body AND hair of a Barbie doll. Last year, model Maria Borges made history when she turned that notion on its head and walked the runway with a natural afro. This year other models followed suit proclaiming that embracing your hair IS truly beautiful.

“I thought it was very interesting that in the casting all the girls come in with their natural textured hair, which wasn’t always the case,” says Victoria's Secret casting director, John David Pfeiffer. “I feel like people wanted to fit into a mold, [they would say] ‘oh this is VS hair and this is what it should look like.’”

We're so glad that mold is finally broken.

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Pfeiffer tells us that this year Alanna Arrington, Cindy Bruna and Maggie Laine attended their castings with curly hair. And, Dilone wore curls for the first casting and then straightened them for the second viewing to show versatility.

PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 30: Maria Borges,Luma Grothe and Megan Williams pose prior the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on November 30, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

Getty Images for Victoria's Secret

The natural hair movement isn’t new—women all over have embraced their curl patterns for years, but it seems that Victoria's Secret hairstylists are finally catching on and models are more comfortable with their hair texture. “Honestly, [the hairstylists] worked with the texture and adjusted it a little bit but its definitely more inclusive,” says Pfeiffer. “And, so much more visually interesting.”

In fact, the movement is so visually appealing VS models are having fun with it off the runway. Backstage Herieth Paul snapped a photo of herself, Jourdana Phillips and Maria Borges with the caption: “Our singing group is called the #buzzcutAngels #vsfashionshow #vsfs2016 #melanin.” Cute.

Would this have happened years ago? Who knows. But it sure is nice to see the change recognized and appreciated.

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