The return of the long-running Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show did not meet viewers’ expectations.
The first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in six years was held on Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City. The shows are best known as “Angel Shows” because of their models are referred as angels due to the angel wings they wear.
Victoria’s Secret (VS) was founded in 1977 in San Francisco, Calif. by Roy and Gaye Raymond, and was the first ever lingerie-only store, as stated by The Style Historian. The company was then sold to Les Wesner in 1982.
The Style Historian explains the story behind the name of the company is often mistaken.
“Long believed to be about someone’s mistress – it’s actually an ode to Queen Victoria and the age of ‘refinement.’ with the ‘secret’ referring to what lay hidden underneath our clothing,” it reads.
The first Victoria’s Secret Fashion was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in August of 1995; this show did not include the wings or extravagant ensembles that were soon to come.
In the early 2000s, the shows became more over the top and even started to include musical guests.The shows quickly became an iconic part of the modeling industry, launching careers to supermodels such as Adriana Lima, Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Miranda Kerr. In 2004, the company started a tour called the “Angels Across America” tour, where the models would go meet fans around the U.S.
The company reached its peak worth in 2016 at $7.78 billion; now the company is worth $2.16 billion.
An article written by NBC News said the last show was held in 2018 and was cancelled because the ratings significantly decreased due to a notable amount of controversy.
The Style Historian explains that the top controversies that led to the company’s demise include other fashion shows being inclusive with their diversity of models. Another issue was the rumored communication between CEO Les Wexner and Jeffery Epstein, and the controversial comment made by the Chief Marketing Officer, Ed Razek, about transgender and plus-size people.
Due to these controversies, the views dropped from 10 million in 2010 to 3 million in 2018. The company decided to cancel the Nov. 2019 show to focus on their message as an establishment.
Having shifted their values, VS announced in May 2024 that they were making a return; however, the show was not what it used to be. According to The Style Historian, VS shows of the past were about $26 million productions, but it seems as though this year the budget was much smaller.
Esther Glazer, a junior from Newton, Mass., who is invested in the fashion world, enjoyed seeing one of her favorite models brought back to walk.
“I really liked seeing Kate Moss and Lila Moss because it was cool to see them bring back some of the models that were in the shows originally,” she said. “And also Kate Moss is one of my favorite models, so it was nice to see her.”
Kate Moss, 50, is an English model who was popular in the 1990s, especially for her appearances in Calvin Klein shows, who made her return in the VS Show. Lila Moss, 22, the daughter of Kate Moss, has modeled for Marc Jacobs and appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia with her mother.
In the show, Moss was seen in a black lacey slip with black feathered wings and Lila was seen in a nude pink set with a pair of wings reading “Lila VS.”
“I liked seeing both of the Hadid sisters as well as Anok, I liked seeing her. I enjoyed seeing Tyra Banks too,” said Zh’ky Johnson-Tuzo, a junior from Bermuda.
Gigi Hadid, 29, opened the show in the largest angel wings of the night, which were baby pink. Hadid had participated in the 2015, 2016, and 2018 show. Bella Hadid, 28, walked in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 shows and appeared this year in an extravagant red feathered outfit.
Anok Yai is a 26-year-old model who, according to Business of Fashion, became the second Black supermodel, after Naomi Campbell, to open for a Prada show. This was her first ever appearance at a VS show.
Junior Maya Vulakh had multiple favorites at the show.
“I liked Barbara Palvin, I liked Candace Swanepoel. I loved [the] Hadid sisters. I also loved Alexi Consani,” she said.
Barbara Palvin, 31, is a Hungarian model who walked in two previous VS shows, 2012 and 2018, and was seen in this year’s show in a long silver slip and a pair of mirrored wings. According to US Weekly, these wings weighed about 40 pounds.
Candance Swanepoel, 36, is a South African model who had formerly been in 11 shows, 2007-15, 2017, and 2018. She was seen in two outfits in the 2024 show; a red lingerie set with a grand red bow as wings and a nude pink set with angel wings that read “Victoria’s Secret” and a pair of large hoops.
Alex Consani is a 21-year-old American model who became the youngest transgender model in 2015 at the age of 12. She became popular on social media in 2020 not only because of her talent for modeling, but also her humor.
Esther feels that there should have been more relevant, on trend, models walking at the show.
“I just wish there were more like current popular models. I mean I like that they had Alex Consani, but I think if they had more models in the same genre as her it would have been more interesting,” she said.
To Esther’s point, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber are currently two of the most popular models who both were previously in VS shows, but neither were seen in the recent show.
It wasn’t just the models that seemed a little out of the loop, it was also the singers.
“They used to have a lot more popular singers,” Esther said. “Like they got Cher, which was cool, but I just felt like the singers used to be a much bigger part of it and more relevant. Yeah, that was pretty underwhelming.”
The three singers in this year’s show were Cher, Tyla, and Lisa from BLACKPINK. In past shows, performers such as Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, the Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, and Katy Perry have taken the stage.
Esther feels that the values the company is trying to showcase are important, but the approach could have been better.
“I definitely think it’s important that they are trying to be more inclusive now, but I still feel like they could go about it a different way,” she said. “I felt like they were just putting plus size models on the runway, but they weren’t like making the clothing really fit them; like really be for them.”
Maya feels that the key messenger of the company’s new inclusive view was not the right choice.
“I think it was a good message to get across except for the fact that the main plus size model they had was actually fatphobic when she was skinny, so I don’t think she was the right person to send their new message,” Maya said.
Tyra Banks was the main plus-size model included in the show; however when she was a VS angel back in the day, she was not pleasant towards those who were plus-sized.
The production of the show, as well, did not quite live up to past.
“I feel like past shows, even though they were problematic, they were such a big deal, and everyone looked forward to it and the production quality was like insane,” Esther said. “They were just trying to promote their commercial things that they sell at Victoria’s Secret, and it just didn’t really work because it looks cheap.”
Many of the ensembles worn in the 2024 show appeared to be items found in the store with extravagant accessories; however, in the past the looks were much more flashy and more of a show was put on.
For example, every show used to contain a “Fantasy Bra,” a costume-made bejeweled bra that one model wears each show. These bras were not sold in store and were just made for the show. This year, there was no Fantasy Bra.
As Zh’ky explains, the stage itself was underwhelming.
“Other Victoria’s Secret shows I’ve seen I feel like they were more formal, like either on more of a stage or runway,” he said. “This one looked to be in a room, like just a floor.”