Tyra Banks couldn’t be happier to see the “beauty revolution” happening within the modeling industry--even if it took more than a decade after her retirement to see some real change.
Following Victoria’s Secret announcing their decision to drop their famous Angels and unveil its rebranding featuring Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe, and more empowering women, the supermodel took to Instagram to give some insight into her own experience.
“First is hard. First is lonely. But first is necessary,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “First is crucial so that a door can be opened for others to fit through. Within a 10-year span starting in 1995, I was the first Black @VictoriasSecret contract model ever. The first Black Victoria‘s Secret Cover model. The first Black VS model to do so many other groundbreaking things with the brand—as well as other brands.”
She continued, “But after a first, must come a flow of more. A flow of different. A flow of unique. A flow so strong, a flow of so many that we LOSE COUNT.”
Along with her caption, Banks also shared a picture from her final runway show in 2005, writing, “I retired from the runway 16 years ago and I’m proud that in my lifetime, I’m witnessing a beauty revolution.”
“To the new collective of badass ROLE models, I may have cracked that door open, but y’all are charging through,” Banks added. “Keep on keepin’ on until we all LOSE COUNT of how many are breaking through behind you. #LetsLoseCount.”
This support from Tyra comes following an announcement from the lingerie company on June 16, when Victoria’s Secret revealed it would be launching two initiatives: the VS Collective and the Victoria‘s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers. New faces of the brand also include Eileen Gu, Adut Akech, Amanda de Cadenet, Palmoa Elsesser, and Valentina Sampaio, the brand’s first transgender model.
According to a press release, after dropping the Angel title for good, the brand now plans to “create new associate programs, revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, and rally support for causes vital to women.”
And when it comes to the Global Fund for Women’s Cancers, the movement will work to “fund innovative research projects aimed at progressing treatments and cures for women’s cancers,” explained the brand, “and investing in the next generation of women scientists who represent the diverse population they serve.”
“At Victoria’s Secret, we are on an incredible journey to become the world’s leading advocate for women,” CEO Martin Waters said in the press release. “This is a dramatic shift for our brand, and it’s a shift that we embrace from our core. These new initiatives are just the beginning. We are energized and humbled by the work ahead of us.”