DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · FASHION · EXPLAINER
Key Facts
- —What it is Angels Among Us is Victoria’s Secret’s open casting for a new Angel, filmed as a seven-episode docuseries that streams free on YouTube.
- —The winner Solange Omon, 21, born in Cameroon and living in Maine, won on Sunday, 18 October. Dominican finalist Andreína Martínez reached the final three.
- —What the winner gets A walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and an exclusive contract with IMG Models, a leading modeling agency. No contract with Victoria’s Secret itself has been announced.
- —How it worked More than 100,000 applicants, castings in four US cities, a top 10 trained in New York and a final three, with the winner revealed on the runway in Los Angeles.
- —Why the word is back Victoria’s Secret replaced its Angels with a group of women partners called the VS Collective in 2021. The contest revives the title as a prize open to the public.
- —The Dominican stake Martínez, a former Miss Dominican Republic born in Santiago de los Caballeros and raised in New York, came within one step of the Angel title.
The Angels Among Us winner, Solange Omon, walked the Victoria’s Secret runway in Los Angeles on Sunday, 18 October, and collected two concrete prizes: a place in the show and an exclusive contract with IMG Models, a leading modeling agency. The title that comes with them is less concrete, because the brand stopped using its Angels in 2021 and has now brought the word back as the reward of a public casting call.
For Dominican and Latin American viewers, the contest mattered because Andreína Martínez, a former Miss Dominican Republic born in Santiago de los Caballeros, reached the final three. For US readers, it is a marketing test by an Ohio-based, New York-listed retailer that has tied the series to its sales plans.
What Angels Among Us Is
Angels Among Us began on 1 April as an open casting across America that let members of the public compete for the Angel title. More than 100,000 hopefuls applied, according to the company, and the search was filmed for what the brand calls its first-ever docuseries.
The seven episodes, made with the production company Boardwalk Pictures and directed by Nadia Hallgren, have streamed free on Victoria’s Secret’s YouTube channel on Sundays and Thursdays since 27 September. The winner was revealed live at the show, but the final episode only airs on 22 November.
How the Contest Worked
Adam Selman, the group’s chief creative officer, toured in-person castings in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Chicago, and scouts from IMG Models took part from the start. A top 10 then moved to New York for runway training, photo shoots and fittings, with eliminations along the way.
Established models Gigi Hadid, Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham appeared on the series as mentors and judges. The final three were Omon, a 21-year-old from Cameroon who lives in Maine; Martínez; and Tatyana Tinsley, a model born and raised in New York.
The reveal came during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2026 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, which streamed free from 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. The company’s VS Insider site declared that “Solange is OFFICIALLY our newest Angel” and has not published how the other two finalists placed.
Our news report, Solange Omon, 21, Wins Angels Among Us, covers the night of the reveal and the three finalists in detail. This explainer looks at what the prize and the title actually mean.
What the Angels Among Us Winner Gets
The official prize has two parts: a walk in the fashion show and an exclusive contract with IMG Models. Victoria’s Secret calls the winner its newest Angel, but the contract in the prize is with the agency, not with the brand.
The value and length of that contract have not been published. The Dominican business magazine Revista Mercado cautioned before the final that the contract opens doors to work but does not automatically guarantee future campaigns or other deals.
That is a sharp change from the old meaning of the word. For decades, the Santo Domingo newspaper Hoy noted in September, becoming an Angel meant an exclusive contract worth millions, with the model as a global face of the brand’s campaigns.
Why the Angel Title Changed
On 16 June 2021, Victoria’s Secret announced the VS Collective, a group of women partners that included soccer star Megan Rapinoe, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, skier Eileen Gu, model Paloma Elsesser and Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio. The Los Angeles Spanish-language daily La Opinión reported at the time that the supermodels and their wings were being replaced, and that then chief executive Martin Waters called the Angels no longer culturally relevant.
The fashion show made its comeback in 2024 and was held in New York that year and in 2025, before moving to Los Angeles this year. Elsesser’s path shows how far the brand has traveled, from the 2021 partner group to mentor and judge on Angels Among Us and a member of the 2026 show cast.
Why It Matters for Dominican and Latin American Representation
Latin America has supplied some of the best-known Angels, including the Brazilians Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio, who both walked in this year’s show. Dominican models have worked the runway too, among them Arlenis Sosa, who appeared in the 2008 show and later became an official Victoria’s Secret model, according to Diario Libre.
Revista Mercado noted before the final that a win would have made Martínez the first Dominican to hold the Angel title officially. She reached the final three as a member of the Dominican diaspora, having been born in Santiago de los Caballeros and raised in New York.
Martínez had already represented the Dominican community in the United States, winning Miss Dominican Republic Universe in 2021 as its delegate and finishing third at Miss Universe 2022. Diario Libre, Hoy, El Día and El Nacional all reported the result within hours of the show, and each one named Martínez in its headline or summary.
What It Means for You
Victoria’s Secret & Co., based in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange as VSXY, said in September that second-quarter net sales rose 10% to US$1.611 billion. It raised its full-year sales forecast to between US$7.100 billion and US$7.180 billion, and chief executive Hillary Super named the Angels Among Us docuseries among the campaigns for the rest of the year.
For investors, the question is whether a free casting show wins new customers, and the next quarterly results will give the first hint. For viewers, every episode and the show itself stream free on the brand’s YouTube channel, where some videos carry product tags linking to Victoria’s Secret items.
What Is Not Known
Victoria’s Secret has not said whether Omon will appear in its advertising or what she will earn beyond the IMG Models contract, whose terms have not been published. It has also not said whether Angels Among Us will return next year or whether more Angels will be named.
Audience figures for the docuseries and the live stream have not been released. How Martínez and Tinsley placed behind the winner has not been published either.
More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Angels Among Us?
Angels Among Us is Victoria’s Secret’s 2026 open casting for a new Angel, filmed as a seven-episode YouTube docuseries. More than 100,000 hopefuls applied, and Solange Omon won on 18 October.
What does the Angels Among Us winner get?
The winner walks in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and receives an exclusive contract with IMG Models. The terms of the contract have not been published.
Is the winner a traditional Victoria’s Secret Angel?
Not in the old sense, because earlier Angels held exclusive contracts with the brand itself. Victoria’s Secret calls Omon its newest Angel, but her prize contract is with IMG Models.
Has a Dominican ever been a Victoria’s Secret Angel?
Dominican models such as Arlenis Sosa have walked the show and worked for the brand. Revista Mercado noted that Andreína Martínez would have been the first Dominican to hold the Angel title officially, but she finished in the final three without winning.
Sources: Victoria’s Secret, VS Insider, winner announcement, 18 October 2026, Victoria’s Secret, open casting call, 1 April 2026, Victoria’s Secret, show location announcement, Victoria’s Secret, Fashion Show page, Victoria’s Secret press release, 18 August 2026, Victoria’s Secret press release, 1 September 2026, Victoria’s Secret & Co., second-quarter 2026 results filed with the SEC, 3 September 2026, Victoria’s Secret & Co., Form 10 information statement filed with the SEC, July 2021, YouTube Official Blog, 30 September 2026, Revista Mercado, what the new Angel wins, 13 October 2026, Revista Mercado, profile of Andreína Martínez, 12 October 2026, Hoy, what being an Angel meant, 3 September 2026, Hoy, 18 October 2026, Diario Libre, 18 October 2026, Diario Libre, Arlenis Sosa honored by the Senate, El Nacional, 18 October 2026, El Día, 18 October 2026, El Día, 4 January 2023, O Povo, Valentina Sampaio, 12 August 2023, La Opinión, Victoria’s Secret drops the Angels, 17 June 2021, People, interview with Solange Omon, 19 October 2026, USA Today, show report, 19 October 2026, ¡Hola! USA, 8 October 2026, ¡Hola! USA, show guide, 16 October 2026. All retrieved 19 October 2026.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief