When Victoria’s Secret Angels strut down the runway in Shanghai on Nov. 20, a few famous supermodels will be missing from the group.
Kendall Jenner, who has spent the last two years walking in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, gave up the opportunity to return to the runway after signing a modeling contract with La Perla earlier this year.
The deal makes Jenner the exclusive face of the luxury lingerie company.
In recent years, some Victoria’s Secret Angels have given up their contract to go after other opportunities — particularly ones that might include fewer year-round commitments or a greater financial incentives. The New York Post previously reported that while Angels in the early 2000s signed contracts worth millions of dollars, some present-day models only get paid somewhere around $100,000 per show.
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As a result, some catwalk queens have chosen to give up the show’s exposure for other opportunities. In 2015, supermodels Karlie Kloss and Doutzen Kroes both chose to hang up their Victoria’s Secret Angel wings to pursue other contracts and, in Kloss’ case, take classes at New York University.
“[Kloss] will be focusing on her modeling career, new business opportunities and NYU starting in the fall,” a source close to the model told People Magazine in February 2015. In the same month, Kloss told Vogue that she would not give up modeling while at school.
“I’ll still be working full-time,” Kloss said. “I’m incredibly ambitious and have lots of goals within my career that I’m not slowing down on anytime soon.”
Former face of the brand Miranda Kerr also chose to stop walking the runway in 2013, telling the Sydney Morning Herald that the time commitment was too much for her.
“I’m just not in a position to commit to a full contract at this time,” said Kerr. “It’s three months at a bare minimum.”
Perhaps some Victoria’s Secret Angels may simply want to test their wings before going back to the coop. Kloss has returned as an Angel for the 2017 show after being absent for the last two years.
See the 2017 models getting ready backstage in Shanghai for the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
