Why Did Heidi Klum, Kendall Jenner, Gisele Bündchen and More Past Angels Skip the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show?

Some familiar faces were missing from the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The event's return on Tuesday, Oct. 15 saw some of the brand's best-known Angels like Tyra Banks, Gigi Hadid and Adriana Lima command the catwalk, but others were notably absent.

After receiving backlash for a lack of diversity, the runway show, which debuted in 1995, was canceled in 2019. In 2023, it returned as The Tour, a streamed nontraditional show that was filmed in Barcelona, London, Tokyo, Lagos, Nigeria and Bogotá, Colombia.

Victoria's Secret announced the return of the runway show in May, promising more inclusivity.

“We’ve read the comments and heard you,” an Instagram caption read. “The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is ✨ BACK ✨ and will reflect who we are today, plus everything you know and love—the glamour, runway, wings, musical entertainment, and more! Stay tuned…it only gets more iconic from here. 🪽”

Gigi, 29, opened the show in a pink satin playsuit and matching angel wings, while Banks, who last walked the show in 2005 and is now 50, closed the runway wearing sparkly black leggings, a black and silver corset and a silver cape. The New York City event also featured performances by Cher, Tyla and BLACKPINK's Lisa.

Ahead, find out the likely reasons why certain VS icons skipped out on the epic reunion.

Heidi Klum

Klum began her tenure as a Victoria's Secret Angel in 1999 and hung up her wings in 2010. The model had several memorable runway moments, including donning the $11 million "Very Sexy Fantasy Bra" in 2003. In 2021, Klum revealed that she was four months pregnant with her eldest daughter, Leni during the 2003 show.

After Victoria's Secret announced its rebrand, Klum said it was "about time" for major changes within the fashion industry during an interview with Australian talk show, The Project.

"As a model, you go there, you're happy you have a job…you do what you're told," she said. "But finally, looking at this now, I'm like, 'About time. Good.' Because, you know, things do need to change. They have been changing but it's been taking too long."

Since 2022, Klum has served as an ambassador for lingerie brand Intimissimi, which presumably conflicts with her ability to work with competing brands like Victoria's Secret. On Tuesday, Oct. 15 — the same day as the 2024 VS show — the 51-year-old debuted a new campaign alongside her daughter Leni.

Gisele Bündchen

Bündchen, 44, served as a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1999 until 2006.

In a 2022 video for British Vogue's "Life in Looks" series, the Brazilian model said that while she "always had fun" on the VS runway, she was "uncomfortable" with the revealing outfits.

"I always made sure that my back was covered because it just made me uncomfortable walking on a runway with my butt hanging out, from looking from down, up," she said. "I was like, 'That's not gonna happen.' But I always had fun on the shows. It was always like a production, there was always someone singing, there was always something happening. It was a fun experience."

In 2023, Bündchen reunited with the brand for its Icons campaign, which also featured Naomi Campbell, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Bieber, Adriana Lima and others.

However, the model announced her retirement from the runway in 2020 and has since said that she has no plans to return.

In a 2022 interview with Elle Bündchen said that she has "zero desire" to walk a catwalk again. Rather, she shared, she prefers editorial shoots.

"It's very easy for me to go there and create a character and play that role for the day," she said. "It fuels me.… I feel inspired to go and create more beautiful things in the world in different ways, too."

Miranda Kerr

Kerr became the first Australian Victoria's Secret Angel in 2007. In 2013, it was reported that the model's contract wasn't being renewed due to her being "difficult," per the Los Angeles Times.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, L Brands' former president and chief marketing officer Ed Razek dispelled the rumor, saying that Kerr is "a consummate professional."

Currently, Kerr is focused on her businesses, cosmetics brand Kora Organics and furniture line One Kings Lane. She's also mom to four children; one son with ex Orlando Bloom and three sons with husband Evan Spiegel.

Kendall Jenner

Jenner, now 28, made her Victoria's Secret runway debut in 2015. She appeared again in 2016 for the Paris show, where she donned the show’s coveted wings for the first time.

The supermodel missed the 2017 show in Shanghai due to her deal with La Perla lingerie. The contract ended in 2018, so Jenner returned to the VS runway alongside Gigi and Bella Hadid.

Jenner has also been working with Calvin Klein since 2013, and has posed for several of the brand’s underwear campaigns. 

Karlie Kloss

Kloss was introduced as a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2013 before parting ways with the brand in 2015. She returned to the runway in 2017 and in 2018, told The Telegraph that the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is "so relevant in the world we live in today."

“There’s something really powerful about a woman who owns her sexuality and is in charge," she said.

In a 2019 cover story for British Vogue, Kloss, now 32, said that her decision to cut ties with VS had to do with her feminist beliefs.

“The reason I decided to stop working with Victoria’s Secret was I didn’t feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful,” she shared.

These days, Kloss is busy working on her coding program, Kode with Klossy, and serving as host of Project Runway. She's also raising two young sons with husband Joshua Kushner.

Selita Ebanks

Banks, now 41, was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2005 to 2010. She went on to appear on several reality shows including Catfish: The TV Show and Uncorked. In April 2024, her new reality series Grand Cayman Secrets In Paradise, premiered on Freeform.

Lily Aldridge

Aldridge was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2009 to 2018. She has remained involved with the brand off the runway, appearing in campaigns like 2024's Body by Victoria bras.

"It's been such a wonderful journey," Aldridge told PEOPLE about working with VS. "I just love being a part of the team and that comradery."