Maria Borges Is the First Afro-Coiffed Model to Walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

On Tuesday, model Maria Borges wore her short, natural hair down the runway of the Victoria’s Secret annual televised fashion show. It was the first time she or any other black model has done so.

Borges spoke to Essence about her experience, saying that she asked the Victoria’s Secret team if she could wear her hair the way it naturally grows out her head for the job (our translation, not Borges’):

“I told my agent I wanted to walk in the Victoria’s Secret show with my natural hair,” says Borges. “I was nervous, but I had to do it. When they said ‘yes’ I didn’t expect it, but I was so happy!”

Borges cut her hair into an afro for a Givenchy fashion show earlier in the year and says, “If you say you’re beautiful without hair and makeup, then they will believe you. It’s about being confident and always being yourself.” She also wrote on Instagram, accompanying a photo of herself looking up, “At this moment precisely, I was looking up to God. I was thanking Him for making my 3rd Victoria’s Secret appearance a moment that would help women around the world to embrace their natural beauty!”

As compared to the usual style of the Victoria’s Secret show, Borges’ hair was part of a slightly new direction by the lingerie line, perhaps spurred by the realization that no one actually applies two tons of makeup to wear their underwear or pajamas.) According to The Cut, the hair and makeup artists backstage during the show created natural looks that were less Tammy Faye Bakker and more Kat Dennings. Along with the light lipstick and eye shadow, the models’ hair was also curled into loose “lived-in, super-sexy waves” aka the same hairstyle Hollywood stars have been sporting for the last several years that VS loves.

Congrats to Victoria’s Secret for allowing a black model to wear her natural hair and other models to wear their nearly natural faces in 2015. Hey, they had to catch up some time.