Leomie Anderson is the newest Victoria's Secret Angel. The Jamaican-born, London-bred supermodel announced the news on Instagram Thursday, writing: "This is something I was even scared to dream about because I never thought it would come true but I am insanely excited to announce that I am Victoria’s Secret’s newest ANGEL!" She joins models Barbara Palvin and Alexina Graham as the latest Angels to be announced by the lingerie brand this year.
With her new appointment, Leomie becomes the sixth Black model in history to become a Victoria's Secret Angel since the brand introduced the sector in 1997. While every Victoria's Secret model enjoys a certain level of exposure and prestige, the Angel delineation is reserved for an elite few. Angels are the faces of the brand, with air-tight contracts, staggering paychecks, and unprecedented notoriety. It's an important distinction because historically, Angels have been overwhelmingly white. There have only been 6 Black Victoria's Secret Angels (including Leomie) out of 40, and there's never been one Asian Victoria's Secret Angel.
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With Leomie as the newest Angel, Victoria's Secret is taking a small step forward in elevating an inclusive set of spokespeople. But more can and should be done. After CEO Ed Razek's inflammatory comments about excluding transgender and plus-size models, it's disheartening to see that they've made no effort to cast models with different sizes and gender identities since. And fans are becoming more and more disillusioned with the brand: over the last 2 years, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show lost half its viewing audience and the 2018 show saw its lowest ratings ever. Still, Leomie's appointment could point toward a more promising future.
Leomie has walked in four consecutive Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, and has become one of the brand's most recognizable faces. In addition to her work with the lingerie behemoth, she is an in-demand runway model, walking for brands like Savage x Fenty, Tommy Hilfiger, and Jeremy Scott at Fashion Weeks all over the world. She's also the designer and founder of L.A.P.P. the brand, a line of athleisure loved by celebs like Rihanna and Jasmine Sanders. And finally, Leomie's a proud and vocal activist, advocating for representation and mental health in the fashion industry, and amplifying women's voices through her popular blog, L.A.P.P.