After a six-year sabbatical, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is back, and the internet is divided. As the Brooklyn stage lit up with the VS logo last Tuesday, the event screamed a clear message — the future is woman! A significant change from its past shows, the production featured an all-women musical line-up, and the choice of models was diverse — if anything. From plus-sized to transgender, olive-toned to older models, the show was an extravaganza of glamour and inclusivity.
So, why was Victoria's Secret, a brand that raked in billions in its first few years of business forced to change its usual format? Well, in the first few years of the show, the brand had more and more stars clamouring to perform on the stage with the winged "angels." There was notable predictability when it came to models: they were all-white, wore scant clothing, and had hallmark, reed-thin bodies. The brand started to fall out of favour somewhere in 2010, as definitions of fashion changed and the show remained largely tone-deaf to it all, reeking instead, of sexism, ageism and unhealthy standards of beauty.
With newer, and more inclusive competitors shoving their way in, VS was elbowed out of the scene unceremoniously, and the show was cancelled in 2019. In a messy attempt to revive the VS runway last year, the company substituted their "angels" for the more serious "ambassadors" featuring soccer player Megan Rapinoe, and actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Sadly, the verdict was still not too favou.