Since 1995, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show has been a beloved tradition in the fashion community. However, it turned out that the 2018 show was going to be the last for a while. The brand was suffering from decreasing sales and backlash due to a lack of inclusivity. Six years later, Victoria’s Secret came back with a new, more diverse image. When the show came back in 2024, the opinions varied, but I have my own thoughts.
The past two years, I have watched the show from start to finish and come up with my own thoughts. In 2024, the audience saw a comeback of renowned supermodels like Adriana Lima. We saw clothes appealing to the basic eye (sequins and sparkles on high end fabrics) and some pretty exciting celebrity appearances. While no one enjoys a fashion show more than I, Kate Dempsey-Weiner, I found some of the outfits disappointing.
Although this show is famous for its signature Angel Wings, many of the wings this year looked cheap with a capital C. Take a look at the wings A-List model Gigi Hadid was wearing. They looked like they were made the night before with materials found from a dumpster behind an abandoned Joann Fabrics. Then, if you thought that was a bad look at Ashlyn Erickson in the PINK portion of the show. She was wearing a cropped pink top, sports bra, and matching sweatpants. The outfit looked like it was made for a fifth grader. The whole point of a fashion show is to highlight the outfits that the brand’s customers would actually want to wear. However, the outfit was appealing to no one but the blind. Overall, I feel like the designers are doing a disservice to their beautiful models by dressing them in hideous clothes.
In addition to the horrendous styles, I find some of the choices for models to be strange, which takes away from the purpose of the show. I understand the appeal of putting TikTok and Instagram influencers and famous female athletes into the show. However, some of them do not fit the standard of the Victoria’s Secret show. Once upon a time, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was the most extravagant thing a model could do. The casting process was rigorous, and only the best-of-the-best, top-tier models who auditioned actually got to participate in the show.
So with all of that in mind, celebrities like Gabriella Mora and Angel Reese just didn’t make sense. Put social media star Quen Blackwell next to supermodel Awar Odhiang, and there is a noticeable difference. Awar is graceful and elegant because she is a highly experienced model. While Angel and Gabi are both beautiful and talented people in their respective fields, their model walk was horrible and not up to the typical Victoria’s Secret standard.
Even though I found the outfits disappointing and the model choices questionable, I have to applaud Victoria’s Secret for diversifying their show. That was a major point of controversy in past shows, and they listened, taking that feedback and expanding their show to highlight people of different races, body types, and ethnicities.
Overall, while I appreciate the effort, this Victoria’s Secret rebrand felt lackluster. Ugly clothes and inexperienced models seemed to leave a bad taste in my mouth. The inclusivity in the past two years has been exceptional, but there is no point to a fashion show if you don’t have the clothes or subjects to back it up.
