Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is set to return in 2024 as a desperate attempt at reclaiming its former status as a global phenomenon of beauty, glamour, and fashion. Once an integral part of pop culture, the show was canceled in 2019 after public outcry over old-fashioned thinking about beauty, lack of inclusiveness, and of course, low ratings. Five years later, the brand is reviving the show with a new vision—is it enough to redeem the fallen angels?
A Fading Spectacle: The Rise and Fall of a Icon
For decades, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was synonymous with elaborate wings, the world’s top supermodels, and performances by musical artists on the biggest charts. The “Angels,” a tightly curated group of supermodels, were cultural icons in their own right. But by the late 2010s, cracks were beginning to appear in the brand’s gleaming veneer.
When once the dream of feminine beauty on display, it wasn’t long before those representations began to be criticized for promoting unrealistically narrow visions of the body. Calls for greater diversity and inclusivity were helping fuel brands like Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty that are body-positive, making the Victoria’s Secret aesthetic seem quaint. Internal controversy-the toxic culture accusations, leadership scandals-just marred a brand.
Ratings are plummeting, and the mood is shifted. Victoria’s Secret cancelled the annual fashion show in 2019 and promised to “rethink” the event.
A New Vision for 2024
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back for a reboot in 2024: this time it’s inclusive, diverse, and socially conscious. The brand has distanced itself in recent years from the problematic past of the fashion show, rebranding with body positivity and inclusivity as its center.
This collection, allegedly, will feature models from different backgrounds, sizes, and identities to embody an idealized beauty image that does exist. The company has also announced that it’s partnering with popular ambassadors including Paloma Elsesser and Adut Akech to publicize a new look of Victoria’s Secret.
Though music will still be central, performances from all different genres and cultures, this time it is empowerment – rather than fantasy-being dealt to fit modern sensibilities on the issues of body image and self-expression.
Will It Be Enough?
Admirable efforts by the brand to be more inclusive, but what Victoria’s Secret really needs to do is regain the public’s trust; that is their biggest problem. The company is attempting to rebrand at a time when the consumer is as highly skeptical of performative change. Everyone is asking, “Is the reboot of the fashion show an organic transformation or just a great marketing play to gain market share back?”.
Competitions of intimate wear have never been fiercer, and Savage X Fenty, Aerie, and many other brands continue to remake the standards for inclusivity and diversity.Victoria’s Secret needs to be more than about diverse casting-indeed, that the values of the brand lived up to its rhetoric.
Initial Responses: Conflicting Expectations
While the show is being renewed, news about this has been mixed. Some fans are waiting for them to come back in order to see a new generation of models on the runway. Others remain skeptical regarding the changes made with regard to the brand – will these ring truer to customers as authentic or only seem that way?.
Other brands like Savage X Fenty have set a new yardstick for inclusive fashion shows that Victoria’s Secret should surpass if it will regain to become more relevant.
What to Look Out For
The 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show shall make its debut later this year, and all eyes will be on whether the brand can successfully reinvent itself. Will finally be the season when the brand brings back the iconic angel wings, or will the show reinforce a very forward-looking visual identity? Will the new messaging strike the audience with more oomph and how Victoria’s Secret will find that sweet spot where nostalgia meets the demands of modern culture?
This much is clear: the stakes are sky-high. For Victoria’s Secret, this is a second chance at rewriting its story. But the bottom line will be realized in the delivery of promises that have meaning, not just words. How long would it take before we know who and what Victoria’s Secret will be?
Would the fallen angels rise again?
