The return of Victoria’s Secret: a reinvented dream

 Fashion is like that one friend who lives away and, even after calling her every day, you

feel as though she’s always living a new life and you can never catch up with her. Maybe

a little far off from the topic, but to me, an on-point analogy either way. It’s a glitter-filled

world, at least to those blind enough to think it. You really have to love it to live it,

if you know what I mean.

Even in a sad industry like this one, very few events have taken the world on like the

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. For years, it was the pinnacle of glamour, the Formula

One of heels and lingerie. I remember being little and watching the whole forty minutes

of it without missing a single girl. The year Blanca Padilla was on it, I felt the same way I

do when I see Chris Hemsworth with Elsa Pataky, proud to be Spanish.

Whatever the case may be, it was filled with controversy, and lots of it. After many years

absent and millions of hearts crushed, VS made a comeback this past week. But I

wouldn’t like to say this is a return; it’s more of a reinvention.

From the rise to stardom and EPIC fall, are we at the stage of hopeful resurgence?

The rise of the biggest fashion empire

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows came to play in 1995, becoming nothing short of a

cultural phenomenon. Starting out as a simple lingerie show like any other, it quickly

rose to fame and became a yearly cultural event. It no longer had anything simple to do

with it: the best models, over the top costumes, and appearances from the most

acclaimed music performers like Maroon 5, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift... Up until 2018,

it was the pinnacle of fashion and beauty, defining beauty standards for a whole

generation.

The models lucky enough to be ambassadors for the brand shortly became household

names, we’re talking Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima, Heidi Klum—you name it. The brand

was no longer lingerie; it was luxury and wings, glitter, and fantasy bras created by

jewelers and sold for millions of dollars. At its peak, it was basically a showcase of

essentially tall, thin, and perfect women; somehow both aspirational and controversial.

A fashion empire plummeting to shame

Society shifts their attitude extremely quickly, and this was no exception; what once

seemed so glamorous and dreamlike slowly became out of touch and, honestly, a little

strange. Women no longer felt represented or inspired, and what was once an

aspiration of sorts became tiring, very fast.

A harsh turning point was the #MeToo movement, a body positivity campaign calling for

greater diversity in the fashion industry; this put Victoria’s Secret at the very center of

the problem. They were quickly criticized for promoting unhealthy beauty standards

and objectifying women. A year later, in 2019, things hadn’t changed much, and

viewership of the shows declined while criticism rose. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion

Show was cancelled. Ed Razek, at the time chief marketing officer, made extremely

controversial comments about trans and plus-sized models; he stated in an interview

with Vogue that “Victoria’s Secret has no plans to include transgender or plus-sized

models in the show; it’s intended as a fantasy, and we won’t be including models that

don’t align with the brand’s image.” (Razek resigned from his job shortly after, a win on

the humanity side of things, I guess.) It seemed that the era of the angels was over.

A time of reflection and correction

The cancellation of the show marks a period of transformation and reflection for the

brand. Was it for money? Did they ever actually want to change? We may never know.

Whatever the case may be, the brand began to change their image. Introducing diverse

models, expanding size ranges, and staying away from hypersexualizing women for

marketing ploys that had once defined them so very clearly.

To explain it simply, the company was no longer focused on the male fantasy;

everything revolved around female empowerment and celebrating women. This fresh

perspective came with new leadership.

It came to a point where this newfound diversity and inclusion felt almost “too pushy."

Last year, in 2023, the brand tried to do the same thing as this year: bring back the

fashion shows. However, this completely distorted the image we once had; this was no

longer what we knew and loved, but almost an extravaganza of sorts. Would it be right

to say that it was almost too inclusive? What I mean is, it wasn’t really the place, sort of

an exaggeration of what viewers wanted, almost a mockery if you will.

A well-deserved reinvention

However, what is meant to be always returns, and that is exactly what they did this past

week. Listening to what the fans wanted, a reimagined show promised inclusivity and

representation while keeping that angel-like feeling that we all wanted. They aimed to

maintain that balance between fantasy and real beauty that was missing back in the

day.

And that was, to a certain extent, exactly what we lived. Some of the most iconic faces

of the brand were back to bring back the glory of what the shows once were. With model

Gigi Hadid being the first to walk, I remember feeling exactly what I did a few years ago:

admiration. As per Business of Fashion, Victoria’s Secret shares rose nearly 7% the

following day; on social media, there was a 5000% increase in mentions from the

month prior. We can say that the production paid off.

I’m sure Ed Razek won’t be happy with this, but everyone else is, so a sad man is a win

in my books. For the first time in VS history, trans models walked the runway. Valentina

Sampaio and Alex Consani walked the show, making history while doing it. Also, plus

sizes were displayed by the beautiful Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser.

In my opinion, the challenge for the brand was to maintain that it-factor that made the

brand so iconic in the 2000s while still embracing that authenticity that we all wanted. It

dazzled without objectifying and celebrated without judgement. To me, this balancing

act reflected how big the change is going to be in the fashion industry. This set a big

standard for how legacy brands adapt in today’s society.

Although there was so much that was new and changed, some of the most iconic faces

of the brand were sure to not miss this. Most of them coming back being mothers;

nothing stopped them from showing off just exactly why they were considered angels in

the first place.

The road ahead isn’t easy, and no matter the sentiment, the show accomplished

exactly what it wanted, although still missing a few things. Hopefully everything will be

bigger and sparklier next year. We have unveiled this new dream, and one thing is clear:

we aren’t the same people that we were before we watched this, and neither are they.

And perhaps that’s exactly the point—to reinvent ourselves just as they have. In

reinventing itself, Victoria’s Secret is helping reshape the world and how we view

women’s bodies.

Bibliography:

https://www.businessoffashion.com/briefings/retail/did-a-blast-from-the-past-put-

victorias-secret-on-track-for-the-future/

https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/fashion/dancing-a-fine-line-victorias-secrets-

runway-return-straddles-fantasy-and-reality