Ashley Graham Is Excited for ‘Representation’ as She Makes Her Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Debut (Exclusive)

The mannequin tells PEOPLE that she wished to be part of this yr’s present so she may symbolize curvy ladies

is making her mark.

The mannequin, 36, strutted the Victoria’s Secret Style Present runway for the primary time on Oct. 15, exhibiting off her mannequin stroll in a glittery bodysuit, sheer gown and gold flower-embellished wings. The supermodel ascended to the stage as Lisa sang an angelic model of “Moonlit Flooring.”

“I’m feeling actually excited,” Graham advised PEOPLE forward of the present. “I’m not nervous, and all the pieces’s very safe, we’re not going to have something come out, which makes me really feel good so I can strut it, and I’m truthfully extra excited only for the complete illustration that’s going to occur throughout the present.”

Graham joked earlier within the day that earlier than she landed on her look, the model gave her one thing on the small aspect — and he or she requested for a swap.

“The very first thing they gave me was this tiny, tiny little underwear, and I stated, ‘Howdy, I simply had three youngsters,’” she advised PEOPLE solely. “Despite the fact that it was like two years in the past, however I used to be like, ‘Is there any extra we will placed on?’ So then I obtained a bodysuit and I really feel actually attractive in it, after which when the wings got here out, that’s once I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I really feel like an Angel. That is sizzling.’”

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Graham additionally advised PEOPLE what an thrilling second it was to be requested to hitch the model for the grand return of the present after its six-year hiatus.

“At first after they requested me to be within the present, I used to be slightly bit hesitant as a result of there was a model DNA that’s been very exhausting to be part of for therefore a few years, for therefore many people, particularly rising up with the model and never all the time becoming within the model and the model not making sizes for us,” she advised PEOPLE solely.

“Once I talked to the pinnacle of Victoria’s Secret they usually ensured me that their hope and their plan is to have prolonged sizes, I stated, sure in order that there might be extra ladies that would see themselves represented on the runway as a result of we didn’t see that in Style Month.”

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Graham and the model shared the information of her becoming a member of the present on on Oct. 11, with the caption, “You thought we had been finished? Not even shut. @ashleygraham can be becoming a member of the long-lasting forged of the Victoria’s Secret Style Present.”

She jokingly stated within the video that the wings had been very “snug” on her “large arms.” She added that she was “born in heels” so she was thrilled to get to stomp down the runway within the sparklers created for the fashions.

Graham ended by noting that she is worked up to symbolize so many “curvy ladies” of all sizes and shapes by strolling the runway this yr. As a curve mannequin, it’s a task she takes nice pleasure in.

She advised PEOPLE in 2022 that there’ll “by no means be a time” that she .

“There simply gained’t,” Graham stated whereas discussing a partnership with Pandora. “It’s only a actuality of who I’m and the ethos of my model. Are you able to think about waking up each morning and having to speak about one thing that you simply suppose the world ought to simply recover from?”

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Graham is joined on the runway by different iconic fashions like Tyra Banks, Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel and extra.

The model’s common present is returning this yr after a six-year hiatus, with its final present in 2018. Victoria’s Secret amid backlash it was receiving for its lack of mannequin range on the runway. It continued to maintain the present canceled throughout COVID-19 and additional determined to carry off on the present till it may relaunch with a brand new, extra fashionable strategy — and beneath new administration.

!

The earlier this yr with an video teasing a brand new imaginative and prescient for the occasion.

“We’ve learn the feedback and heard you,” the caption learn. “The Victoria’s Secret Style Present is ✨ BACK ✨ and can mirror who we’re at present, plus all the pieces you understand and love—the glamour, runway, wings, musical leisure, and extra! Keep tuned…it solely will get extra iconic from right here. 🪽”

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