Victoria’s Secret Returns to the Runway

Can you turn back time? On Tuesday night, Victoria’s Secret put that question to the test.

For the first time in six years, the lingerie giant brought back its best-known cultural export — the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Held inside a cavernous warehouse at Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, a parade of supermodels hit the runway donning the brand’s signature lace and mesh sets, alongside performers Lisa (of the K-pop sensation Blackpink), Tyla and Cher, who closed the show with a full dance squad and empowerment anthems like “Believe” and “Strong Enough.”

In many ways, it felt like the same Victoria’s Secret fashion show from years past: There were consistent references to the brand’s aughts height, from the moment Gigi Hadid opened the show in a large pair of pink feathered wings that grew as she walked down the runway — the first of several appearances by former Angels including Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Behati Prinsloo, Jasmine Tookes, Candice Swanepoel and Tyra Banks. The entire space was bathed in the same soft pink hue that has long covered its stores, and the featured looks were elaborate, with tulle capes, lacy details and of course, plenty of wings.

But look closely, and differences appear. From the moment before the lights dimmed, a voiceover from Banks declared that at this year’s show, women would “take the reins and the spotlight.” There was more diversity, with models of varying gender identities, racial backgrounds, ages and body types. And while there were plenty of skin-baring bra-and-thong sets, there were also dresses, leggings and even pyjamas. Behind the scenes, a female team led the show’s production, Sarah Sylvester, the brand’s executive vice president of marketing and Janie Schaffer, chief design and creative officer, as well as former Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Emmanuele Alt, who styled the show. All the performers and dancers were also women.

The contrast between old and new underscored the current stakes for Victoria’s Secret, which has found itself in the midst of an identity crisis that has resulted in falling sales since its post-pandemic turnaround and spinoff from former parent-company L Brands. In August, it also made a leadership shift, naming Hillary Super, previously the CEO of competitor Savage x Fenty, as chief executive.

Victoria’s Secret is still by far the dominant player in its category — its buzziest competitor, the Kim Kardashian-owned Skims, operates just five storefronts compared to Victoria’s Secret’s 1,370 plus. But its market share has diminished over the past decade as cultural norms shifted away from the brand’s male-fantasy image and women began to prioritise comfort over sexiness.

After facing backlash, in recent years, it has embraced body positive marketing, casting plus-size model Paloma Elsesser and soccer star Megan Rapinoe in campaigns, but nothing resonated like the “Angels” once did. Attempts to erect a replacement marketing tentpole have similarly fallen flat, like last year’s documentary “Victoria’s Secret: The Tour ‘23,” which streamed on Amazon Prime.

“It was hard to break through and open up people’s minds to something different,” said Sylvester. “That was where we were like, ‘Well, maybe we don’t need to overthink it.’”

Tuesday evening’s big production in Brooklyn, which drew a famous-enough crowd that included Cardi B, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee and “Bridgerton” star Phoebe Dynevor, was part of the brand’s latest efforts to bring back the excitement that surrounded it in its heyday. But resonating with shoppers again won’t be an easy task, a matter of reminding consumers why they loved the brand in the first place while simultaneously convincing them that Victoria’s Secret belongs in the zeitgeist.

“There’s a lot of baggage with this show,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData’s US retail and consumer division. “They had to show a fresh take that’s aligned with modern values, and much more about women than men.”

Victoria’s Secret Tries Again

From the first small, untelevised show at the Plaza Hotel in 1995 to its last iteration in 2018, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show evolved into an all-out spectacle, synonymous with “Fantasy Bras” covered in thousands of Swarovski crystals and diamonds and its Angels’ seemingly flawless looks. It was a tentpole of pop culture that had the ability to attract top performers — not to mention, mint new supermodels — and millions of primetime eyeballs on network television.

What’s more, it set Victoria’s Secret apart from not only its direct competitors, but the rest of the mall.

“Your average mall retailer did not have a one-hour ad with its own commercials on national television for more than 20 years,” said Chantal Fernandez, co-author of the book “Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unravelling of an American Icon.” “They really understood the power of creating a fantasy, and [the show] was really effective as a tool of mass communication.”

But as the late 2010s ushered in the #MeToo era, both viewership and cachet dwindled. The narrow definition of beauty championed by Victoria’s Secret — long hair in bouncy curls, blemish-free faces, usually white skin and always, always thin — felt more and more out of place. When, in 2019, the show was cancelled, the general consensus was that the decision had been a long time coming.

Recent years, however, have shifted that dialogue, particularly as Victoria’s Secret failed to find a worthy alternative. The solution? Bring back the runway show with some modern adjustments, rather than do away with it entirely.

“Our customers told us loud and clear that they wanted the show back,” Sylvester said. But they didn’t want the same exact formula. Instead, the edict was to “make it more modern, but bring back the things that we loved and missed — models, musical stars and wings.”

That’s Victoria’s Secret’s current north star — listening to what their customers tell them, which “isn’t something that we necessarily always did” in the past, Sylvester said.

With this year’s show, the intention was to present something through a female gaze. Sylvester said they also made an effort to reflect the way women buy intimates today — prioritising comfort over sex appeal. While there still was plenty of the latter, there was also more of an embrace of the former. For example, the brand sent a pair of pyjama pants down the runway for the first time (paired with a bedazzled bralette on longtime VS model Taylor Hill). Rather than focusing first on building a fantasy with over-the-top garments that never make it to store shelves, the items on the runway this year are part of the brand’s holiday collection, with a bit of added “flair to make sure it’s runway worthy.”

“This is from a woman’s point of view, and what we think is right for our customer,” Sylvester said. The casting was updated, too. For the first time in its history, two transgender models walked the runway: Valentina Sampaio and Alex Consani, as did groundbreaking plus-size models Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham and supermodels Carla Bruni and Kate Moss, ages 56 and 50, respectively. In stores, too, the brand has made efforts to open itself up to a wider consumer base, expanding its size range — it now offers 70 sizes across categories.

Online, reception to the show is mixed. While plenty celebrated its return — “GIRLHOOD IS HEALING!” one user wrote on Twitter — others felt that it didn’t quite capture the magic the original show once had.

Either way, it’s unlikely the show will change the cultural perception of Victoria’s Secret overnight, said “Selling Sexy” co-author Lauren Sherman. Moving in that direction, however, is essential, especially as Skims has become synonymous with buzzy campaigns, casting everyone from “Bridgerton” star Nicole Coughlin to pop star of the moment Sabrina Carpenter to a slew of former Victoria’s Secret angels, including Banks and Heidi Klum.

But a star-studded event will certainly generate attention, maybe, some much-needed brand heat.

“It could potentially point towards the tides turning, and we could look back and say, ‘Oh, wow, that really did work,’” said Sherman. With a new chief executive in charge, she added, more change is surely ahead, no matter what.

Editor’s note: Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez previously worked for The Business of Fashion.