Is the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show even relevant?
For many girls who grew up in the ‘90s, Victoria’s Secret wasn’t just a store — it was a rite of passage.
The first time you were deemed to be “old enough” to go in there and walk out toting something (even if it was just a perfume or fruity lip gloss) in the store’s signature sugary pink striped bag was an adolescent stepping stone among first dances and dates.
When you couldn’t make it to Victoria’s Secret, it came to you with its very frequent catalogs. Before social media, flipping through its pages and seeing strong, beautiful models such as the fierce Tyra Banks or Brazilian bombshell Adriana Lima. We saw for the first time images of women not just flaunting but owning their sensuality. (Beyond lacy underthings, the catalogs in those days also had a nice selection of clothes, swimwear and outerwear.)
Of course, there was a lot about Victoria’s Secret that was unrealistic, but the fantasy was part of the fun. For instance, the clothes were often too expensive to buy but still pretty to look at. That includes its yearly fantasy bra; its latest one designed out of Swarovski-crafted diamonds and topaz is valued at $1 million.
These days, though, the Victoria’s Secret fantasy is becoming too fantastical for its own good. Case in point: the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which airs at 10 p.m. Sunday on ABC. While the brand has always promoted far-fetched depictions of female beauty, lately these images are borderline tone deaf.
Before the fashion show airs, you can “meet the Angels” (aka models) at www.victoriassecret.com. Kendall Jenner, sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid, and Ms. Lima (who’s retiring after 20 years modeling for the brand) are some of the most famous ones. While Victoria’s Secret should get credit for casting a pretty racially diverse cast — which included for the first time 24-year-old Winnie Harlow, who has the skin condition vitiligo — there’s just something archaic about size-zero women prancing around in pricey panties on prime-time TV.
Nearly 70 percent of women in America wear at least a size 14. Why can’t a curvy girl get a pair of angel wings? (At New York Fashion Week in recent seasons, there have been entire runway shows devoted to plus-size style. Plus, there’s been a slowbut-steady uptick in highprofile designers, including Christian Siriano, Prabal Gurung and Michael Kors, who have cast a mix of fuller-figured and straight-size models in their runway shows.)
Chief marketing officer Ed Razek has further exposed just how out of touch with reality (or just plain crass) Victoria’s Secret really is during media interviews about this year’s runway show and why it only casts very thin women and no transgender models.
“Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy,” he said. The comment has unleashed a rash of criticism from activists, celebrities and other brands, like the underwear company ThirdLove (whose tagline is “Bras and Underwear for Every Body”).
The backlash prompted Mr. Razek to follow up with an apology on Victoria’s Secret’s Twitter account: “To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings . ... And like many others, they didn’t make it . ... But it was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”
Victoria’s Secret lingerie CEO Jan Singer stepped down from her position a week after Mr. Razek made his initial comments.
What Victoria’s Secret needs to recognize is that girls nowadays (and adult women, too) have lots more places to go for the kind of coming-of-age shopping experience than the girls who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Lingerie brands, such as Pittsburgh’s own Aerie for American Eagle and Trusst Lingerie, don’t cater to a one-size-fits-all approach to beauty. Their ads showcase models (and everyday consumers) of all sorts of backgrounds and body types — and they’re beautiful.
And while there is a time and a place for overthe-top fantasy, it’s really only fun when we all have a chance to buy into it. If not, Victoria’s real secret is just smoke and mirrors.