Victoria's Secret fashion show is back - but is it still relevant?

Lingerie giant Victoria's Secret is holding its first fashion show for six years, but has previously faced criticism for a lack of diversity, as Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda reports

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show always had real cultural importance.

For the models, it was a sign of success to be cast to walk the runway. For the musical performers, it was a global platform to deliver your biggest hits. And for everyone in attendance, it proved you were important enough to be invited.

But the stars, sequins and staggering number of different underwear combinations often seemingly muted questions that were being asked about diversity and inclusion.

The annual showcase started in 1995, and began to be live-streamed soon after that - it was also broadcast on network television in the US, 2001 was its best year with more than 12 million viewers.

Bosses pulled the plug on the fashion show in 2018, the reasoning behind the decision was complex.

Chantal Fernandez, who co-wrote the book Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon, said the show was unique in its heyday because "regular people were not watching fashion shows, or models walking down the runway. It was an innovative model to bottle some of the magic of the fashion industry."

Though it may have been innovative in some ways, its inability to adapt in others was one of the big reasons behind declining viewing figures in the 20-teens and its subsequent cancellation. It only got about three million viewers in 2018.

Chantal told me she thinks "the brand underestimated the cultural shifts that were already very clear in 2018, but had been bubbling up for years, around #metoo and feminism.

"We had seen in the rest of retail and fashion a trend to more body positivity in advertising and Victoria’s Secret really resisted all of that."

As sales continued to stumble, things then got worse when CEO Les Wexner had his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein called into question.

There were also rumours of inappropriate behaviour by Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek - something he always denied. Razek was basically responsible for the fashion shows and the brand’s ‘Angels’.

It has always been the biggest hitter in the lingerie industry in terms of sales but in fashion image is everything…and that image was far from the picture-perfect perception we were fed through its various glitzy ad campaigns - survival as a company required change.

Razek resigned, Wexner sold the company and the new brass introduced different spokespeople.

A cohort of inspirational, high-achieving women already in the public eye, like actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, US soccer star Megan Rapinoe and tennis champion Naomi Osaka.

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Now, it’s taken another move in trying to recapture former glories by relaunching its Fashion Show nearly 6 years later with a focus on diversity, including ethnicity and body type.

Brit Megan Williams, was a model for the famous event for three years running from 2016-2018, she believes the changes are necessary.

She said: "I think there were changes needed across the whole industry and every brand was held accountable to show more diversity. I think the consumer asked for that."

"I think everyone should be able to see an image of themselves and feel like they could be a part of a brand. So I am really happy to see that changes happening."

In another bid, to almost "un-cancel" themselves - Victoria’s Secret has gone faux for the first time, using artificial feathers for its famous wings.

In previous years, the company has used more than 620,000 real feathers from chickens, pheasants and ostriches for just one show.

Jennifer White, a spokesperson for PETA, believes the "decision is really reflecting the modern values that we are seeing now."

"Many people don’t know that thousands of birds are live-plucked to make these fashion items. So it really is a great sign of the times."

Victoria’s Secret has work to do to catch up with brands that have taken on the lingerie runway baton in its absence, like Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty and Kim Kardashian’s Skims.

The fashion show historically was Victoria Secret’s statement of superiority, but this year in New York City it comes back asking for acceptance.

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