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Victoria’s Secret held its first fashion show in August 1995 at the Plaza Hotel in New York, presenting lingerie to buyers, press and company executives. The event featured Stephanie Seymour as host and models including Veronica Webb and Beverly Peele, but had no musical performers or broadcast audience. The show’s later shift toward wings, celebrity guests and television began taking shape in the years that followed.
Victoria’s Secret’s first fashion show was a 1995 industry presentation at New York’s Plaza Hotel, where the brand showed practical, wearable lingerie to buyers, press and executives. A Harper’s Bazaar retrospective reports that the event, hosted by Stephanie Seymour, had no musical guests or performers and was not broadcast to a mass audience—an early format far removed from the wings, celebrity appearances and television production associated with later shows.
The show took place in August 1995, according to Harper’s Bazaar, and featured Seymour as host as well as a model. The lineup included Veronica Webb, Beverly Peele, Frederique van der Wal and Gail Elliott, among others. The event was described as flashy for an industry gathering, but its central purpose was to present a new lingerie collection to people involved in buying, covering and running the business.
The clothes also reflected a more everyday approach. Harper’s Bazaar’s account describes the opening look as a thick-strapped T-shirt bra with high-rise briefs. Other outfits included full-cut briefs, rolled-over shorts and a long T-shirt belted over boy shorts. Models also wore bras with knee-length slip skirts, silk pajama pants, cardigans, tap pants, simple bustiers and robes.
The final looks included slips and silk eveningwear, along with Chinese-inspired silk adornments, the retrospective says. The overall effect was a mix of lingerie and clothing clients could plausibly wear, rather than the elaborate fantasy costumes and large-scale staging that became familiar later. The source notes that the show was taped, but says it was not initially televised to a large audience.
From Buyers’ Presentation to Broadcast Spectacle
The 1995 show offers a point of comparison for understanding how Victoria’s Secret’s fashion event changed: from a presentation aimed at trade audiences to a heavily staged entertainment production. That shift matters because the show’s format helped shape how the brand presented lingerie—not only as merchandise, but later as spectacle and celebrity culture.
The retrospective also points to a continuing fashion question: how lingerie moves between private apparel and outerwear. Its descriptions of bras paired with skirts and silk separates are notable because those combinations have appeared in later runway styling, too. That is a comparison, not evidence that the 1995 show directly caused current trends.
Victoria's Secret lingerie collection
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How the Show’s Format Expanded
The 1995 event did not yet have the features most associated with later Victoria’s Secret shows. Harper’s Bazaar says there were no musical guests, no mass television audience and no streaming distribution. Its account instead places the show within the practical setting of a brand presenting new products to buyers and the press.
The change began to become visible within a few years. The retrospective says that by 1998, the brand was using “angel” for its top models and dressing them in wings, while celebrities such as Jon Bon Jovi were beginning to appear in the front row. Victoria’s Secret first televised the show in 2001, around the period when models including Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum became closely associated with its history.
Limits of the Available Record
The account provides a retrospective description, not a complete production record. It does not specify the show’s full running order, audience size, sales results or the precise number of looks. While it says the event was taped, it does not provide details about the recording’s distribution or establish how widely it was viewed at the time.
The source also refers to a 2026 show as upcoming “this weekend,” but the supplied material does not include a publication date or confirm when that event was scheduled. That timing cannot be independently established from the text provided.
What the Retrospective Leaves Open
The retrospective’s account sets out a basic timeline—from the 1995 Plaza Hotel presentation, to the growing use of angels and wings by 1998, to the first television broadcast in 2001. It does not report a new announcement or give a confirmed date for a future show. Any current plans, lineup or broadcast arrangements would need separate confirmation from Victoria’s Secret or event organizers.
Key Questions
When and where was the first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?
According to Harper’s Bazaar, it was held in August 1995 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
Who hosted the first show?
Stephanie Seymour hosted the event and also walked in it. The reported lineup included Veronica Webb, Beverly Peele, Frederique van der Wal and Gail Elliott.
What did models wear in 1995?
The retrospective describes T-shirt bras, high-rise briefs, boy shorts, slip skirts, silk pajama pants, tap pants, bustiers, robes and eveningwear. It characterizes many outfits as wearable lingerie and clothing, rather than the elaborate costumes of later shows.
Was the first show televised?
Harper’s Bazaar says the 1995 show was taped but was not televised to a mass audience. The brand first televised the show in 2001, according to the retrospective.
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