All photos courtesy of Mel Ottenberg.
Karen Mulder knows a thing or two about runway shows. Especially when it comes to Victoria’s Secret, where she was one of the original Angels that helped cement the brand as a household name. While the supermodel stepped away from the industry for the last 20-odd years, now she’s back and it’s clear there’s still a magnetic pull between Mulder and the catwalk. Following her Vogue Germany September 2026 cover, she joined Interview Editor-in-Chief Mel Ottenberg in the front row at the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show where the pair talked about Vogue World, working with Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, and their best advice to emerging Angels, all while looking the definition of glam.
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MEL OTTENBERG: What would you say to the Angels, Karen Mulder, OG Angel?
KAREN MULDER: What would I say? Now you’re putting me on the spot. Well, just have fun and be fabulous. And angels should be nice.
OTTENBERG: Yeah, they’re angels.
MULDER: Yeah. They shouldn’t be mean to the other angels.
OTTENBERG: I think so too. What was it like to be an OG angel? I know it’s a basic question, but I really want to know.
MULDER: It was amazing. I mean, everybody was looking forward to the Victoria’s Secret show. Everybody was dying to go see the show. And to do it, as well, was so much fun. The music was amazing, styling was great, so it was definitely something to remember.
OTTENBERG: When was the last time you were at a fashion show?
MULDER: Two weeks ago.
OTTENBERG: Oh, nice.
MULDER: I was at Vogue World. It was a really beautiful event, so many artists, people from all levels of the fashion world. They had les petites mains [the atelier seamstress], the ones that do the work. There was Alicia Keys. It was just really beautifully done with the music, the atmosphere.
OTTENBERG: Yes, it looked beautiful. Actually, my first—
MULDER: Oh, I look beautiful, you said?
OTTENBERG: You do look beautiful.
MULDER: Oh, thanks.
OTTENBERG: You look really great. Are you wearing Victoria’s Secret right now?
MULDER: I am, yeah.
OTTENBERG: Oh, wow. You look hot.
MULDER: I didn’t know what to wear, to be honest, because—I mean, black is always the goal.
OTTENBERG: Wait, Carlyne Cerf [de Dudzeele] is styling [the runway show]. Do you have any Carlyne memories?
MULDER: Oh, yeah.
OTTENBERG: She’s so incredible.
MULDER: I arrived yesterday here at the rehearsal and she went, “Oh my god, I can cry. I can cry!” And she was like, “I always remember…” I’m sorry for imitating her, but that particular voice!
OTTENBERG: Yes, I think you can’t help it.
MULDER: She was like, “I remember you. Every day in Cannes, every day we’d put makeup on you, and you’d start crying,” because I was just so tired from flying back and forth. Like, literally, every three days I was on the other side of the world for a couple of months.
OTTENBERG: Right.
MULDER: And then, I arrived in Cannes for the film festival. We were doing pictures, but I was just so tired. I wouldn’t make any noise, but the tears would just come up.
OTTENBERG: Right, just so beat.
MULDER: So, that was a memory that Carlyne just told me about, but I also remember that. And then, afterwards, it was great. We did beautiful pictures.
OTTENBERG: Do you have any specific memories of doing the Victoria’s Secret show back in the day?
MULDER: I think it was at the Donald Trump Plaza or something? At the time, I was doing a lot of fashion shows, so it was another fashion show. But it was definitely one that was looked at by everybody and it was amazing.
OTTENBERG: Did you meet any of the new girls yesterday?
MULDER: I met the Dutch girl, [Rosalieke Fuchs].
OTTENBERG: Okay, sick.
MULDER: Yeah, she looked very pretty. And apparently, they had been begging her to do the show for three years and now she finally said yes. And yeah, it was nice to meet her and to meet the young, new generation.
OTTENBERG: Yes.
MULDER: Also, being Dutch is always nice too.
OTTENBERG: Of course.
MULDER: I like Dutch people.
OTTENBERG: The new legendary Dutch children. What’s your secret to looking good? Because you really look good.
MULDER: Oh, I’m not telling you my secrets.
OTTENBERG: Okay, that’s fair. Do you have any memories of what you used to think about when you would be on the runway in the heyday, like in the ’90s? What are you thinking? Nothing?
MULDER: Actually, no. I would just kind of be mysterious and think of something that…Sometimes I’d have a song in my head, or I’d just listen to the music of the Danish people. It was great. It was like going out there and doing a performance. It wasn’t just walking down the runway. It was like, okay, I’m going to have to entertain you.
OTTENBERG: Who do you think is the best photographer that you ever worked with?
MULDER: I didn’t work with him very much, but Steven Meisel. I’d love to work with him again. I just worked with Sean and…Sean and Sing?
OTTENBERG: Sean and Seng.
MULDER: Seng.
OTTENBERG: Yes, yes, yes.
MULDER: And they made me look really beautiful, so I’m very thankful for that.
OTTENBERG: Fantastic.
The post Karen Mulder Gives the Next Generation of Victoria’s Secret Angels Some Advice appeared first on Interview Magazine.