Hoang Thuy attracted attention when she publicly expressed her desire to conquer the Victoria's Secret runway. The female model shared images of enthusiastically exercising, aiming to realize the dream she has pursued for the past 15 years. To see, becoming a model performing for the Victoria's Secret show is not easy.
According to Time, for decades, Victoria's Secret has been embodied by "angels", an elite group of supermodels with exclusive contracts, contributing to shaping the American-style sexy standard. Victoria's Secret's body standards have long been known as one of the "most strict measures" in the fashion industry.
Although no official figures have been released, The Sun newspaper said that models must be about 1m75 tall, measurements 86-61-86cm and BMI below 18%. Meanwhile, the "normal" BMI level of women is said to be about 21-24%.
A stylist who used to work with the brand shared: "They have a body shape and size considered standard - big breasts, small waist, long and thin legs. If there is no body that Ed Razek - former Marketing Director of Victoria's Secret - considers "perfect women's body", then you will not be on shows".
In a video posted on Victoria's Secret's official channel in 2016, the producers explained that the brand's models need to have a special "attraction". They consider hundreds of models, and the decisive factor in who is chosen often depends on the ability to attract the audience's attention.
Victoria's Secret's recruitment director - John Pfeiffer - once said that besides the physique factor, the most important thing for viewers is "inspiration". This difficult-to-define factor - something that audiences are familiar with and love in Victoria's Secret's typical faces such as Jessica Stam, Hilary Rhoda and Adriana Lima - has helped them stand out much more than the rest.
In addition, to walk on the Victoria's Secret runway, models must not have an "arrogant" attitude. According to Ed Razek, "many models have successful careers, but we need a team that can interact with each other, support each other".
Among Victoria's Secret's models, there are only a few Asian faces. China is the Asian country with the most significant number of models participating in the show, with famous names such as Liu Wen, He Mengyao, He Xue...
Some opinions suggest that the Chinese supermodel lineup may not fully meet Victoria's Secret's body standards. But China is a large market, so it has created an advantage for the models of this populous country in the fierce selection.
Since 2019, Victoria's Secret has undergone a major reshuffle because it has been criticized for outdated beauty standards, lack of diversity and reduced sales, so the brand has become more open in the criteria for selecting models for shows. However, the competition for a spot on the Victoria's Secret catwalk for Asian faces is still challenging.
Regarding Hoang Thuy, she is one of the typical faces "rising from scratch" in the Vietnamese modeling industry. As the champion of Vietnam's Next Top Model 2011, Hoang Thuy possesses a angular, personality face and an ideal height of 1m79.
In the latest clips, the female model confidently shows off her toned figure after a hard training process, along with a confident and professional demeanor.
She is also highly appreciated for her strong catwalk ability, with highlights. It is her performance ability and physique that helped Hoang Thuy win the opportunity to appear on international catwalks such as London Fashion Week (2014, 2017) or New York Fashion Week (2015).
Later, she also switched to beauty pageants, winning the title of 1st runner-up at the Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 contest; and representing Vietnam at Miss Universe 2019, stopping at the Top 20.
However, many viewers believe that Hoang Thuy still needs to improve her international recognition and build a personal brand if she wants to pass the Victoria's Secret selection round.
On the other hand, in this year's selection criteria (online registration portal open from April 6 to May 28), one of the mandatory conditions that Victoria's Secret set out is that the contestant must be "a legal resident of the United States and eligible to work in the United States". Many viewers are worried that this will be a barrier for Hoang Thuy.
