Who are Alex Consani and Valentina Sampaio? Inside the lives of Victoria's Secret's first ever transgender Angels

A-listers from around the world gathered together in New York yesterday evening for the first Victoria's Secret fashion show in six years.

And after six years in the wilderness, the brand did its best to come back with a bang, as it made history by including two transgender models as 'Angels' for the brand for the first time.

And Alex Consani and Valentina Sampaio donned their wings and strutted their stuff on the runway alongside well-known supermodels including Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid .

It came five years after one of the brand's bosses, Ed Razek, caused uproar when he said models who were gender non-conforming should not be cast in the show. He resigned in 2019, the same year the show was cancelled.

Despite this year's ' woke ' return being branded 'boring' and 'cheap' by fans who miss the pizazz and glamour of the good old days, it acted as a launchpad for both Consani and Sampaio's careers.

But who are the dynamic pair representing the 'new' Victoria's Secret?

Alex Consani appeared on the runway yesterday evening donning a pair of large silk Angel wings and a matching blue sequin underwear set, posing at the end of the catwalk with her signature bleached eyebrows and smoky eyeshadow makeup look.

Backstage, the 21-year-old told Paper magazine: 'I'm so excited. This is my first-ever Victoria's Secret show, I can't believe it. I can't believe I'm here.'

She was born in Marin County, California and started working the camera aged just 12 years old.

Her mother came across Slay Model Management, an agency based in LA that was made up of entirely transgender models and she got signed before she hit her teenage years.

She told Who What Wear : 'Having that title [of being the youngest-ever signed trans model] on my chest pushed me to work harder and strive more in my career.'

At age 16, she signed a contract with IMG Models in 2019 when she was 16 years old and then moved to New York City at 18.

Consani, who is 6ft 2in, has worked with Tom Ford, Versace, Burberry , Chloe and Alexander McQueen since getting her contract.

She recently starred in Charli XCX's hit 360 music video, alongside a transgender model and comedian, Hari Nef and Blizzy McGuire.

She appears on Charli's video showing off her long legs in a hospital hallway with an older man lying on a hospital bed, while she blows smoke on him.

Towards the end of the clip, she is seen dressed in black, posing alongside the Brat singer's girl gang.

In a chat with Interview magazine, Consani opened up about how important it is to set boundaries in the modelling industry.

She said: 'I think that allowing people to have space to do what they want morally is what fashion needs to create a truly diverse space.

'If people are really representing themselves and their communities, it's important to hear when they don't feel comfortable.'

She also opened up about rejection and getting hate, to which Consani said: 'Honestly, I'm the type of girl where I'm like, if you hate on me, that's completely up to you, babe, because I am who I am.

'I'm very content with myself, and I know where I stand. But I dislike when my friends get hated on because that's when it really hurts. When it's people that I care about.'

Valentina Sampaio also appeared on the runway yesterday, donning an all-black look with sparkly matching underwear set along with a sheer diamanté fishnet skirt, complete with an onyx-coloured black ribbon wings.

The 27-year-old was the brand's first transgender model and they initially hired her to star in their new VS Pink campaign after Razek left in 2019.

Speaking to People , she said that becoming Victoria's Secret's first trans model is something she will 'cherish for a lifetime'.

She said: 'Today, the Victoria's Secret family has shown the world that being trans is just as exceptional and beautiful as anyone else on that runway.

'Inclusivity is crucial to the world we're building, and I'm honoured to walk with pride, love and the hope of inspiring the next generation.'

Sampaio was born in a fishing village in Aquiraz, Brazil, and said she was eight years old when a psychologist identified her as transgender, according to Business Insider.

However, she did not start calling herself Valentina until she was 12.

She told the New York Times that she 'always felt like a girl,' adding that her father, who is a fisherman, and her mother, who is a teacher, were 'were always supportive and are very proud' of her choice.

Sampaio was studying fashion when she was discovered by a makeup artist and signed by a modelling agency based in São Paulo.

But it wasn't always easy to come across work, as some clients refused to hire her because of her transgender identity.

In 2017, she appeared on the front cover of Vogue Paris Entitled 'Transgender Beauty'. It was the first Vogue cover worldwide to ever feature a transgender model, according to her agency, the Lions Management.

Sampaio has since worked with big brands such as Moschino, H&M, Balmain, L'Oreal, Marc Jacobs Beauty, and Dior Beauty.

She has also appeared in magazines such as British Vogue, Vogue Brasil, Vogue Germany, Vogue Taiwan, Harper's Bazaar Spain, Out Magazine, Vanity Fair Italia, and Elle France.

She was also the first trans model to appear in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue.