The $50 Million Question: Victoria's Secret Revives the Fantasy Bra and an Old Idea of Sexy

Victoria's Secret brought back its Fantasy Bra for the 2026 fashion show, and the garment's return says as much about the brand's anxieties as its ambitions. The 2026 Fantasy Bra, valued at $50 million, was revealed near the end of the show by Kylie Jenner, who walked the runway in oversized white angel wings as the lights came up on her identity. The revival is a deliberate marketing play — but it has also drawn sharp criticism from fashion's most influential critic, who argues the brand has resorted to an old stereotype of sexy rather than imagining something new.

The 2026 Fantasy Bra: A Return to Spectacle

The reveal was staged for maximum drama. As TODAY reported, one model began walking as the lights dimmed to shield her identity; when they returned, it was Jenner, the reality star and entrepreneur, entrusted with debuting the bra. Vogue, citing the valuation, describes the piece as the most expensive Fantasy Bra in the brand's history.

The bra was created in collaboration with the jeweler Jacob Arabo of Jacob & Co., whom Vogue's Max Berlinger describes as a longtime stalwart of the jewelry trade who has made baubles for Madonna, Rihanna, Elton John and Victoria Beckham. Arabo said the partnership was an immediate "yes." "Victoria's Secret took something as simple as a bra and transformed it into a piece of high jewelry," he told Vogue. "Nobody was doing anything like that at the time. It brought together two worlds — fashion and high jewelry — in a way I had never seen before."

The brand's own framing is unapologetic. In Vogue's reporting, Victoria's Secret creative director Selman described the choice of Jenner as "an interesting pairing that we're giving the fans: we're giving them what they want with this amazing Fantasy Bra, and we're going to put it on an unexpected talent who has a massive following and massive cultural impact." He added: "I think it's fun. I think it's really joyful, and I think it's fun to celebrate in a different way that people aren't going to expect."

A Storied History: Notable Fantasy Bras of the Past

The Fantasy Bra is not a new invention but a recurring tradition, and the 2026 version enters a lineage of increasingly extravagant pieces. As Vogue recounts, the 1999 Millennium Bra was priced at $10 million and worn by Heidi Klum. The following year, Gisele Bündchen wore the $15 million Red Hot Fantasy Bra — which held the record as the most expensive until this year's. The tradition then went dormant: the last Fantasy Bra before 2026 was the Atelier Swarovski Fantasy Bra, which cost $1 million and was worn by Elsa Hosk in 2018.

That gap matters. The Fantasy Bra disappeared alongside the brand's Angels and the annual fashion show itself, both retired amid shifting cultural expectations and declining relevance. Its return in 2026, at a valuation more than three times the previous record, signals that Victoria's Secret wants its spectacle back — and is willing to spend lavishly to reclaim it.

Berlinger's assessment of the tradition is candid: "Sure, the Fantasy Bra is ultimately a marketing stunt, but the fact is, it works. The mixture of a beautiful woman and a blinged-out bra remains cultural catnip and somehow continues to dazzle audiences."

Victoria's Secret 2026 Fantasy Bra: Brand Narrative vs. Cultural Reality

The core tension of the 2026 revival is the gap between how the brand presents the Fantasy Bra and how independent critics read it. The table below juxtaposes the two perspectives.

Victoria's Secret's stated intentions for the 2026 Fantasy Bra, set against the critical reception
Aspect	Brand's Stated Strategy	Critical Reception
The model	Kylie Jenner, described by Selman in Vogue as an "unexpected talent" with a massive following and "massive cultural impact," chosen to give fans what they want.	The choice of Jenner and the bra's revival are read by New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman as part of a return to an old stereotype of sexy rather than a new direction.
The garment	A $50 million bra made with jeweler Jacob & Co., described by Arabo as transforming "something as simple as a bra" into "a piece of high jewelry."	Friedman frames the spectacle as "simply reviving the past and resorting to sexy clichés" rather than communicating a new idea about the body.
The show's purpose	A "fun" and "really joyful" celebration, built on giving fans the Angels and the Fantasy Bra they asked for.	Friedman suggests the real fantasy would be a runway offering "a whole new idea about lingerie entirely" — not what audiences expect.

Victoria's Secret's stated intentions for the 2026 Fantasy Bra, set against the critical reception

Aspect

Brand's Stated Strategy

Critical Reception

The model

Kylie Jenner, described by Selman in Vogue as an "unexpected talent" with a massive following and "massive cultural impact," chosen to give fans what they want.

The choice of Jenner and the bra's revival are read by New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman as part of a return to an old stereotype of sexy rather than a new direction.

The garment

A $50 million bra made with jeweler Jacob & Co., described by Arabo as transforming "something as simple as a bra" into "a piece of high jewelry."

Friedman frames the spectacle as "simply reviving the past and resorting to sexy clichés" rather than communicating a new idea about the body.

The show's purpose

A "fun" and "really joyful" celebration, built on giving fans the Angels and the Fantasy Bra they asked for.

Friedman suggests the real fantasy would be a runway offering "a whole new idea about lingerie entirely" — not what audiences expect.

The critique comes from Vanessa Friedman, fashion director and chief fashion critic at The New York Times since 2014. Writing about the show, she observed that the big reveal came after Bella Hadid had strutted in a bejeweled bra and wings resembling "a pointillist garden, like some sort of Seurat-inspired boudoir mirage" — and she posed the question that defines the revival's stakes: "Wouldn't it be incredible if, rather than simply reviving the past and resorting to sexy clichés, Selman and co. managed to think of a new way to communicate physical agency and unfetter the body?"

Her conclusion is pointed: "Maybe that's the real fantasy. If they could pull it off, this particular fashion form might actually take wing."

Navigating the Future of 'Sexy': A Brand's Dilemma

Victoria's Secret's decision to revive the Fantasy Bra with Kylie Jenner aims for cultural impact and fan engagement, but it risks alienating a segment of its audience that seeks a more modern and inclusive definition of sexy. The brand's own language — "fun," "joyful," "cultural catnip" — is sincere, and by the metrics of attention it may well succeed. But Friedman's critique identifies the strategic fault line: nostalgia for a proven formula is not the same thing as a contemporary vision.

The dilemma is measurable. Watch future Victoria's Secret marketing campaigns and fashion show themes for shifts in their portrayal of sexy and inclusivity, and watch the critical reception from fashion journalists and cultural commentators. If the brand continues to lean on revived spectacle, expect the critique of "sexy clichés" to harden. If it evolves, the 2026 Fantasy Bra may be remembered as the moment the brand chose nostalgia — and the moment that choice was named for what it was.