Romée Strijd says she will not walk in this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show after five weeks of casting uncertainty. The Dutch model described the wait and its outcome in two TikTok videos posted Oct. 12.
She had hoped to return after becoming a mother of two. Her previous run included five consecutive shows, from 2014 through 2018.
“I don’t feel supported by my agency,” she said in her follow-up video, according to Just Jared.
Strijd said she accepts that rejection is part of modeling. Her frustration concerned the explanation she received and whether she had been given an accurate account of where she stood.
Strijd Kept Training While She Believed She Was Still Being Considered
@romeestrijd
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Strijd said she trained throughout the summer before attending a September casting in New York. Although she recognized the casting director and some people from an earlier shoot, a new team was putting the show together and she was asked to audition.
Afterward, she believed she was on some kind of “maybe list.” She continued asking IMG for updates and kept preparing because modeling bookings can come together at the last minute, even as she increasingly expected not to be selected.
Finding time for that preparation alongside her responsibilities at home had become more difficult, she said. In her first video, recorded six days before the show, she still did not have a final answer.
Strijd described the experience as “a little bit of a roller coaster mentally.” She felt she had done what she could by attending the casting and putting in the work, while the decision remained out of her hands.
Her Agency’s Final Update Did Not Match What She Had Been Hearing
@romeestrijd💋💋💋♬ original sound – romee strijd
In her second video, Strijd described asking her agency why she had not been chosen. She said she was told the casting team thought she would not fit this year’s show. When she sought a more specific explanation, she was told she had already been released from consideration.
That did not match the previous update she recalled receiving. According to OK!, Strijd said her agent had told her the previous Friday that the casting director was still considering her and expected to provide an answer before the weekend.
Strijd said an earlier decision would have allowed her to stop preparing and move on. Instead, she described the prolonged uncertainty as a source of unnecessary stress and asked for straightforward communication: “Just be honest.”
She said she did not think she would go through the casting process again because she disliked how this experience had been handled. She nevertheless expected the show to be good and wanted to retain her positive memories of working with the brand.
Fellow model Frida Aasen responded in the comments with her own casting result. “I also went to the casting and it was a no,” she wrote, while sending Strijd her support, Cosmopolitan reported.
Her Last Run Included the Swarovski Shooting Star Look
For the 2018 show, Strijd wore Swarovski’s Shooting Star design in the Celestial Angel section. The look combined a crystal-covered bodysuit with a silver star in place of conventional wings and matching ankle boots, according to Vogue France.
The complete outfit incorporated more than 125,000 crystals. Before the show, Strijd shared a photograph and wrote about feeling honored to wear it, ELLE Australia reported at the time.
The Los Angeles Show Has Announced Returning Models and Four Musical Acts
The Victoria’s Secret lineup includes returning names such as Adriana Lima, Gigi Hadid, Candice Swanepoel, Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser, Alex Consani, Imaan Hammam and Anok Yai.
KATSEYE, Megan Moroney, Megan Thee Stallion and Tate McRae are scheduled to perform. The event moves to Los Angeles after the previous two editions were held in New York.
The show will stream live on Victoria’s Secret’s official YouTube channel on Sunday, Oct. 18, beginning at 4:30 p.m. PT, or 7:30 p.m. ET, according to YouTube.