Victoria's Secret made its long-awaited comeback on the evening of October 15 with a successful runway show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York. After a terrible downfall in 2019, the brand returned after a five-year hiatus to rebrand and reclaim its name in the fashion industry. The latest show reintroduced the distinctive lingerie label with its familiar Angels like Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Liu Wen, Jasmine Tookes, and Barbara Palvin returning to the runway in all things feather and glamour. With an interesting decision to leave it to the Hadid sisters to open and close the show, Victoria's Secret wrapped it up quite well by clearly bringing their new message across - inclusivity and positivity. The show featured Tyra Banks, one of the most popular Angels from the 90s who is known for advocating body positivity with several new entries like the mother-daughter duo - Kate and Lila Moss, Iman Hamam, Anok Yai, Carla Bruni, Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser and Irina Shayk. The Y2K sensation came back in style, keeping up with some of the original trends like the unification of pop culture and fashion, bringing in some of the most iconic singers like Cher, Tyla, and Lisa from Blackpink. Victoria's Secret faced major scrutiny five years ago for its lack of inclusivity, elitism, misogynist ideals and promoting unrealistic beauty standards. The backlash against Victoria's Secret began in 2028 amidst harsh criticism from the LGBTQ community for the lack of inclusivity on their dated runway shows. The CMO of the company, Ed Razek, in an infamous interview with Vogue, called the show “a fantasy… a 42-minute entertainment special” that did not need any representation whatsoever. Razek soon issued an apology and resigned in 2019. The brand tried to deal with the damage by adding one transgender model, but that was not enough. Almost a 100 models signed an open petition against CEO John Mehas on allegations of sexual assault. The petition, which The Model Alliance submitted, demanded the company to protect its models against sexual misconduct, highlighting the culture of misogyny and abuse. Mehas stepped down from his position in November 2020. In the following years, the brand was mocked for the fact that it was a women's lingerie brand regulated by men, with its uncomfortable concept resulting from a man’s ideas of an over-sexualised woman. This was also around the time the brand’s sizing issues were brought to the forefront, where odd bra sizings were used to minimize production efforts. Victoria’s Secret, however, tried to put all this in the past, rebranding itself to cater to all. For their latest shows, the brand handpicked its diversity advocates by bringing in the transgender model and internet sensation Alex Consani and plus-sized models Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Grahams. However, the comeback seems much like making a few additions to cover up for their mistakes, considering the minority groups are still fewer, and it looks like there were few spots allotted for them, like reservations in their show. The evening may mark a new phase for the brand, maybe even bringing it back to the top of the luxury lingerie segment while competing against comparatively newer and more inclusive competitors like Kim Kardashian's lingerie line ‘Skims’ and Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty. Victoria's Secret had to change its most basic nature of elitism. The Angels, as the name suggests were meant to look otherworldly, like ‘actual angels’, a ‘standard’ that could not be achieved or maintained. These Angels were infamous for their lean body, tall height, the healthy, long, and shiny hair that could almost convince you they are a haircare brand and their iconic glowy, slightly bronzed makeup is deemed iconic to this day. By selling these unachievable standards, Victoria's Secret maintained its brand long enough before cancel culture called for better reforms. The rebranding has been one long called for in today’s world, where inclusivity is demanded more openly and where said ex-angels have talked about social issues themselves. Seeing the brand make so many such changes really proves that it listens to its consumers as it had initially claimed on its social media. From their choice of models to deciding to give up on real fur, it makes you wonder if Victoria's Secret is here to stay this time.
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Trouble in Paradise
The New Victoria
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Gigi Hadid opening the show for VS24. Image via People Magazine
22 Oct 2024
Mimansha Ojha
