Swarovski crystal-covered angel wings, sky-high stilettos and million-dollar fantasy bras: The Victoria’s Secret fashion show is making a return to the runway for the first time since 2018.
During its 2022 earnings call on March 3, Victoria’s Secret CFO Timothy Johnson said the brand plans “to support the new version of our fashion show, which is to come later this year.”
In a statement sent to Yahoo Life, Victoria’s Secret said it plans to explore “new spaces like reclaiming one of our best marketing and entertainment properties to date and turning it on its head to reflect who we are today.”
The show, which was once a fashion industry darling, exited stage left in 2019 amid record-low viewership, growing demands for size and casting inclusivity from consumers and accusations of sexual assault within Victoria’s Secret and its parent company, L Brands, during the height of the #MeToo movement.
Following the cancellation of the show, the brand introduced a series of initiatives aimed at promoting inclusion, including getting rid of their “Angels” in favor of more diverse representatives.
But with its return, many Gen Z consumers who grew up idolizing famed Angels such as Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks and Adriana Lima, aren’t sure the show’s revival will be able to recreate the sexy ethos that launched it into popularity.
Fallen Angels
In a 2018 interview with Vogue, L Brands’ then-chief marketing officer Edward Razek, who developed the show, said the brand “attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t.” He also told the publication that the brand didn’t find it necessary to include transgender models because the show “is a fantasy.”
