Meet Solange Omon, the Cameroon-Born Youth Advocate Who Just Became Victoria's Secret's Newest Angel
A year ago, Solange Omon was living on her own in Maine, taking college classes and helping Black and immigrant teenagers write job applications. On Sunday night, she walked the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway in golden wings as the brand's newest Angel.
Omon, 21, was born in Cameroon. She won Angels Among Us, Victoria's Secret's first open casting competition for a new Angel, and was revealed as the winner during the 2026 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Oct. 18 at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. The show streamed free online.
Her reaction said it all. She told TheGrio she was "expecting my name, but not expecting my name."
From nonprofit work to the runway
Before modeling, Omon worked as a program coordinator at nonprofits serving young people in Maine. She helped mostly Black and immigrant teens build job and networking skills and learn about climate change. In an earlier role, she connected 16- to 24-year-olds with mentors, education support and community resources. Modeling had been on her vision board for years.
How she won
Victoria's Secret opened the casting on April 1 and says more than 100,000 people applied. In-person castings followed in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Chicago. Omon learned in Chicago that she had made the top 10.
The finalists went to New York for runway training, photo shoots and fittings, mentored and judged by Gigi Hadid, Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham. The final three were Omon; Andreína Martínez, a former Miss Dominican Republic raised in New York; and New York model Tatyana Tinsley. All three walked in Sunday's show.
What she wins
Omon's prize was her walk in the show and an exclusive contract with IMG Models. That contract is with the agency, not with Victoria's Secret, and its terms haven't been made public. Whether she'll front future Victoria's Secret campaigns hasn't been announced.
The whole competition was filmed as Angels Among Us, a seven-episode docuseries directed by Nadia Hallgren and produced with Boardwalk Pictures. It streams free on Victoria's Secret's YouTube channel, and the final episode, which covers Omon's win, airs Nov. 22.
Why it matters
Victoria's Secret retired its Angels in 2021, after years of criticism that its idea of beauty was narrow and exclusionary. Bringing the title back through an open casting was a test of whether the brand had really changed. Crowning a young Black African immigrant whose résumé is built on community work is a strong answer.
Now the question is what comes next. A title and an agency contract open doors, but they don't guarantee campaigns. Let's see if Victoria's Secret puts Solange Omon's face where it put its Angels before her: front and center.
