Any average viewer would know that the yearly Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is not just a fashion show. It is nothing short of a spectacle. In a stark contrast to the black, white and grey runways that the other fashion brands use for their show, the Victoria’s Secret fashion shows were a celebration of the extravagant and the sexy. The stage would be decorated elaborately, each theme of lingerie well thought out, celebrity musical guests would sing their latest hits as the famous VS “Angels” took the ramp. With such elaborate shows, it was clear that Victoria’s Secret did not just sell fashion or lingerie, it sold a “fantasy”.
While this “fantasy” has often been packaged and marketed under the garb of empowerment and women having fun with their attire and owning their sexiness – the motivation behind Victoria’s Secret was always to cater to the male gaze and in the process, sexualise and objectify women. American businessman Roy Raymond started the brand in 1977 when he felt that men did not have a place to go to where they could feel comfortable buying lingerie for their wives. Ever since then, through the statements of their head officials, their products and their brand messaging – Victoria’s Secret has primarily been for men rather than women.
Also read: Victoria’s Secret And Its Despising Truth
If one is to look for alternatives in the market where lingerie is made for women (and by women), brands like Negative, ThirdLove, Cuup, Parade and most notably, Savage x Fenty would stand out. Savage x Fenty, a high-profile lingerie line by musician and actress Rihanna herself, almost brought a revolution in the lingerie industry. From featuring models who belonged to all body types and sizes to more women of color (and even a pregnant model) – Savage x Fenty was seen to be a breath of fresh air that accepted bodies like they came and made comfortable, inclusive but sexy lingerie for them nonetheless. The body-positive Real Catwalk in New York in 2017 was probably the most prominent form of protest against the Victoria’s Secret fashion shows. Over 12 volunteer models (or ‘Anti-Angels) of all ages, sexual orientation, cultures and races walked the show in order to celebrate women and not “serve up an aspiration that no one can really relate to”.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was cancelled from the year 2019 onwards and in 2021, it announced that they were revamping into the VS Collective with brand ambassadors who were not models but trailblazing women who had accomplished a lot in their own fields. The brand ambassadors included American soccer player Megan Rapinoe, transgender model Valentina Sampaio, actress Priyanka Chopra-Jones, plus-size model Paloma Elsesser, Chinese-American skier Eileen Gu, refugee and model Adut Akech and journalist Amanda de Cadenet. The revamping also came with internal changes whereby six of the seven members of the board were women (while the CEO position is still held by a man). The purpose behind the revamping according to CEO Martin Waters was to actually “listen” to their consumer base and become “world’s leading advocate for women”.
However, people all over the world could clearly see it as an attempt to seem more inclusive and empowering in order to boost their waning sales as opposed to a clear dedicated effort in changing the brand. This becomes more apparent when the brand said it would cater to more body sizes but has not yet created a line of products for plus-size women ready to sell. This was also seen as an attempt to clear the brand’s name after the damaging connection between Leslie Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein came to be known and how Epstein, a convicted sex offender would use the brand’s name to scout unsuspecting models and sexually assault them. In addition to that, a 2018 interview with Ed Razek, the Chief Marketing Officer who developed the idea of the show and the brand of ‘angels’, also infuriated the beauty and fashion community as he denied adding “transsexual” to the show as it would not fit in with the fantasy they were selling. Ra