Remember when society tried to convince us that turning 40 meant quietly retiring to the land of sensible beige cardigans and fading politely into the background? For years, we were fed the utterly baffling myth that a woman's glamour came with an invisible expiration date - and that once you crossed into your forties, all the fun was strictly reserved for the shiny twenty-somethings who still haven’t figured out how pensions work.
Well, spoiler alert: someone clearly forgot to send that memo to the Victoria’s Secret runway.
© Getty ImagesWhile pop culture spent years obsessing over the newcomers in wings and glitter, the runway’s latest chapter proved something women in their second act already knew: the most magnetic, jaw-dropping people in the room aren't the rookies. They’re the icons who have lived, loved, mothered, built businesses, weathered bad breakups and bad haircuts, and emerged looking - and feeling - like powerful bad ass women.
Seeing these veteran supermodels strut back onto the global stage with huge wings, killer smiles, and zero apologies is the ultimate midlife pep talk. Are they trying to turn back the clock? Possibly. But are they flaunting the kind of fierce, unapologetic charisma that can only be earned with time and experience? Most definitely.
Victoria's Secret models over 40
© Getty Images for Victoria's SecrAdriana Lima
As the longest-serving Angel in Victoria’s Secret history, Adriana Lima, 45, practically wrote the blueprint for high-octane runway charisma, but her forties have seen her evolve into something even more formidable: completely unflappable. After welcoming her third child in her early forties and facing the inevitable public scrutiny over her changing body, Adriana didn't retreat or offer excuses; instead, she posted an unretouched selfie alongside the unapologetic caption, "This is the face of a tired mom... thank you for your concern." Lima has continually spoken about how womanhood becomes richer when you stop treating ageing as a threat.
© Getty ImagesIrina Shayk
Irina Shayk, 40, famously walked the Victoria’s Secret show while pregnant and she continues to dominate the runways with unmatched sass. Having just crossed the 40 threshold, the supermodel has long been one of the industry's most vocal critics of Hollywood's anti-ageing hysteria. "I'm getting older and I'm wiser," she famously declared in an interview, insisting she has zero interest in chasing the illusion of eternal girlhood. "I'm going to have wrinkles and I have wrinkles... You just have to accept the idea of ageing and of bodies at every stage, and just celebrate it." Yes, girl!
© Getty ImagesAlessandra Ambrosio
Alessandra Ambrosio spent nearly two decades strapped into towering pairs of wings, yet her post-Angel second act has felt even more radiant. Now 45, the Brazilian beauty has been candid about the mental clarity that arrived the moment she left her youth-obsessed twenties behind. The top model frequently reflects on the fact that she feels infinitely more secure, vibrant, and at peace in her body today than she ever did while adhering to the punishing standards of early-career modeling. As she has shared in discussions about wellness and longevity, your forties are when you finally stop seeking external validation.
© Getty ImagesDoutzen Kroes
Known during her Angel years for her sun-kissed, athletic elegance, 41-year-old Doutzen Kroes has pretty much stepped back from the relentless commercial fashion machine, and the Dutch supermodel has spoken openly about the claustrophobia of spending her early twenties as a manufactured canvas for other people's fantasies. In midlife, she has traded perfectionism for acceptance. Doutzen has emphasised that getting older has allowed her to detach her self-esteem from the camera lens, finding that a woman's deepest peace arrives when she stops trying to preserve a past version of herself and fully inhabits the present.
