Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Is Cancelled
As of November 21st, 2019, L Brands made the announcement that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will not be airing to any networks. The show, which has been airing on television networks since 2001, is known for inviting popular artists to serenade their models as they walk down an extravagant runway displaying Victoria’s Secret’s lingerie. In the announcement L Brands states that the company is evolving and will need time to create new advertisements to market. However, many have speculated that their are other causes to this recently cancellation.
Over the past few years, the ratings have decreased vastly. Variety claimed that when ABC aired the show in December 2018, featuring “Shawn Mendes and Bebe Rexha, brought in 3.3 million viewers” which is “down from 6.7 million in 2016 and 9.7 million in 2013.”
An obvious cause could be their marketing chief Ed Rezak told Vogue in an interview from 2018 that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show would not include transgender or plus-size models since that wasn’t on brand. When he was asked what the brand was, he called it “fantasy.” However, days before Rezak stepped down in August 2019, Victoria’s Secret hired their first trans model, but she’s yet to walk the runway for the brand.
Rezak may have a point though, his show is definitely fantasy and many women don’t stand for it. Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has faced criticism for their exclusive sizes that many would label unrealistic. The brand has created a standard that many women across the country has consciously rejected. Conveniently, another brand, founded by the popstar Rihanna has surfaced. She has collaborated with a lingerie brand called Savage to create the Savage X Fenty line of lingerie and leisure-wear that’s inclusive to all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and on her latest New York runway, two pregnant models. It’s no surprise that due to other inclusive brands rising up in popularity, Victoria’s Secret has come to its demise.
Whether it’s the decreasing ratings, inappropriate comments from high authority, or the rise of more inclusive lingerie brands, the infamous Victoria’s Secret brand may be coming to an end.
As for the students at Valley, many are still planning to purchase Victoria’s Secret items. Four of the five girls I spoke to said that they’ve been shopping at Victoria’s Secret since the end of middle school and they still do. Although she didn’t want me to use her name, an 11th grader said that “the items at Victoria’s Secret are more size inclusive” compared to the runway, which I’d agree with.