Earlier this week, Victoria’s Secret released a new campaign empowering women and inspiring social change. Gone are the Victoria\u2019s Secret angels, and instead are 18 models from diverse backgrounds, one of which is an Idaho native.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like a dream come true, those were the kinds of jobs I was wishing for and praying for when I was in the city modeling,\u201d Celilo Miles said.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old was one of 18 models featured in Victoria\u2019s Secret’s new Love Cloud campaign. The new campaign focuses on celebrating all women from different backgrounds, but Miles isn\u2019t your typical model, the Idaho native is also a wildland firefighter for the Nez Perce tribe.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy culture has always been on the land, so I grew up fishing, huckleberry picking and then I got into fire and that’s where I feel most at home and at peace,\u201d Miles said. <\/p>\n
She’s currently attending school for communication studies, but the 27-year-old started modeling in New York back in 2017. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great, I loved the city, I met a lot of people, but I had a lot of disappointment in my modeling career. It was hard for me to book work,\u201d Miles said. <\/p>\n
She told KTVB she decided to leave the industry after her brother’s passing and the start of the pandemic, and returned home to be on the land and heal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen this fall, I had a casting agency, they sent me an Instagram message,\u201d Miles said. <\/p>\n
After sending her photos to the casting agency, she found out the job was for Victoria\u2019s Secret.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like what? I\u2019m not even in the city, I\u2019m not signed, I\u2019m not even modeling, I\u2019m going to school and firefighting,\u201d Miles said. \u201dI stopped trying to fit a mold and then I get this job and I\u2019m like ‘okay it was meant to happen, life comes around full circle.\u201d <\/p>\n
She now hopes to inspire other girls, like herself. <\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in Idaho we grow up in small communities and all we see is our mothers and aunts, and it’s nice to see people aspiring to be more,” Miles said. “It doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t be a mother or a housewife but you’re more dynamic than that, you’re more than one role and so I think coming from Idaho it’s great that I can represent that and I\u2019ve seen so many other women breaking their own barriers other than what they grew up in,\u201d Miles said. <\/p>\n