Every year, fashion fans around the world gather to watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The VSFS has been a tradition for the brand since 1995, when the first show was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The show was cancelled in 2019 due to declining viewership, but it was restarted in 2024 after a VS rebrand. This year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took place on Sunday, October 18th in Los Angeles, California. While this show was highly anticipated by VS fans, many others had criticisms of it. Some fans were wary about the casting of influencers, while others questioned the very existence of the show.
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond, who wanted to create a store where he and other men could comfortably shop for lingerie for their wives. This means that from VS’s conception, it has always been focused on men. In 1982, Raymond sold the brand to Leslie Wexner (a successful businessman, now known for having ties to Jeffrey Epstein). Wexner made VS what it is today. While the first VSFS was held in 1995, the first angel wings hit the runway in 1998, and the show was first broadcast on live television in 1999. While Wexner owned the company, he made the lingerie, photoshoots, and fashion shows increasingly more provocative and hypersexualized in order to cater to men. The brand has never focused on women, but rather encourages men to buy lingerie for their partners so that they can be sexy like the supermodels. In recent years, VS has tried to rebrand itself as a company that is committed to female empowerment. This can definitely be seen through the marketing of this year’s VSFS, which focused on how any woman can be a VS Angel (seen through their open casting call).
First, let’s talk about the looks. There were 89 looks in total (not including the PINK halftime show), with the show opening with supermodel Bella Hadid and closing with VS legend Adriana Lima. In my opinion, many of the looks weren’t anything that we haven’t seen from VS before. They mostly kept with their classic styles and silhouettes. My personal favorite part of the show was the first section, where the looks were very flowery, graceful, and feminine. Some of my favorite looks from this section were 3, 8, 9, 15, and 24, worn by Ming Xi, Elsa Hosk, Bertie Salazar, Candice Swanepool, and Doutzen Kroes, respectively. This section mostly focused on slip dresses, which I absolutely loved. The looks didn’t feel overdone, and were simple yet elegant.
The second section was much more colorful and bold, reminiscent of Carnival of Brazil. My personal favorite look from this portion of the show was 35, worn by Jasmine Tookes. I loved how the neon yellow and pink looked together, and the gorgeous wings made of streamers really tied it together. The third section featured mostly metallic gold, silver, and black, and gave the audience a glimpse of those classic VS lingerie sets. To me, this section was a little boring, as I feel like we’ve seen a lot of similar things from VS in the past. My favorite looks from this section included 45, 49, and 56, worn by Ming Xi, Solange Omon, and Alex Consani, respectively. This section also included the infamous $50 million Fantasy Bra, worn by Kylie Jenner this year. The fourth and final section of the show featured the angels in all-white looks. I really liked this section, as it gave off the vibe of old Hollywood beauty. My personal favorite looks were 76, 77, and 82, worn by Barabara Palvin, Paloma Elsesser, and Anok Yai, respectively.
This year’s VSFS featured many controversies, stemming from both fans and critics alike. For this year’s show, VS hired influencer Quenlin Blackwell to walk the runway during the PINK halftime show. Many fans complained that inviting influencers ruined the exclusivity and unattainability of being a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Similarly, VS chose to not allow previously renowned Angels to walk. In a TikTok, legendary VS model Romee Strijd said, “It’s Monday now, the show is on Sunday, I still haven’t heard anything.” Strijd chronicled her experience and feelings of re-auditioning for Victoria’s Secret online. She stated that she trained all summer for the casting, which was especially hard, due to her having two kids to take care of. Strijd stated that she wasn’t upset about not being cast, but rather about the miscommunication between her, her agency, and VS.
Another critique of this year’s show from VS fans was about the musical guests, which included Megan Thee Stallion, Tate McRae, Megan Moroney, and KATSEYE. Most fans liked Stallion and McRae’s performances but complained that Moroney’s country music didn’t fit the vibe — and it didn’t help that she accidentally ran into a few models. Fans also stated that KATSEYE’s performance included too many people, as they were blocking the models. KATSEYE was already a group comprised of four people, but they decided to add background dancers, crowding the runway. While I agree with the critique of Moroney, I do think that KATSEYE was the perfect performer for the PINK Halftime Show. This part of the show was more youthful, fun, and colorful, which I think KATSEYE totally embodied.
Finally, the biggest critiques of the show really questioned the core of its existence. Should we be watching the show in today’s political climate? Does it objectify women? Online, I saw many people calling the VSFS the “Women’s World Cup” or the “Super Bowl for Girls.” These names just reinforce negative stereotypes and gender roles: boys like sports and girls like fashion. Also, there is already a Women’s World Cup, just like the World Cup but played by female soccer players. In a world where female athletes are already treated poorly, I think that we should stick to calling the Victoria’s Secret show just a fashion show, as opposed to a Super Bowl for Girls.
A valid critique of the show itself is the existence of the Fantasy Bra, which costs $50 million and is made entirely of diamonds. While usually worn by long-time VS Angels, this year it was donned by nepo baby and business mogul Kylie Jenner. While many people online were incredibly excited by this moment, I, and many others, wondered why a $50 million bra even exists in the first place. Also, why are we celebrating one of the richest women in the world wearing it? With the current state of the U.S. economy, it feels uncomfortable to watch a member of the 1% flaunt their wealth and status.
Another critique of the show is its messaging about body image. It is quite well known that eating disorders run rampant in the modeling industry, but these unhealthy behaviors and unrealistic body standards can be passed on to viewers as well. One of the reasons for the cancellation of the VSFS in 2019 was due to the company refusing to hire plus size and trans models. Even after the cancellation and VS’s rebrand as “more inclusive,” the show still reinforces unrealistic beauty standards. The only plus size model in this year’s show was Ashley Graham, who is only a size 14, while the average size for an American woman is a 16 to 18. This means that the average American woman is still not being represented on the VS runway. While some fans want the Angels to continue being skinny and unattainably beautiful, women should be able to see themselves represented onstage, to show that they can feel beautiful and sexy at any weight. By not hiring models that are a size 16 or larger, Victoria’s Secret is perpetuating the idea that only skinny women can be attractive. There also was only one trans model in this year’s show, 2024’s Model of the Year Alex Consani. This reinforces the stereotype of only cis straight women being considered desirable.
The talk of this year’s show was Barbara Sprouse (formally Barbara Palvin), who was mislabeled as a plus size model in 2018, despite being quite thin. This year, Palvin returned to the show six weeks postpartum. Many commenters online remarked on how amazing her body had ‘bounced back’ from pregnancy. While it is great that Palvin was able to return to her pre-pregnancy body so quickly, it’s important to recognize that this is basically entirely up to genetics. While the company Victoria’s Secret may push the idea that women have to be constantly gorgeous, Palvin herself reminded women that even she doesn’t look like an Angel all the time. In an interview with People Magazine, she said, “What you saw on that runway was me all dolled up, but my everyday postpartum reality looks very different. Some days, just finding time to take a shower or sit down and eat a meal in peace feels like a huge accomplishment. And that deserves to be celebrated too.”
Both VS and the modeling industry as a whole push models into putting their job before their health. This can be seen in this year’s show through supermodel Anok Yai. She said in an interview with ELLE, “I tore my meniscus in August. And then I spent, like, all of August, up until now, rehabbing my knee.” Many people pointed out that Yai probably felt pressured to still walk the show, and that she should’ve spent her time resting rather than training for a fashion show. Models’ health should be taken more seriously for their own sake, but also for the sake of female viewers who could be influenced to treat their health as secondary to beauty and work.
The main question that arises from this year’s show is this: Can women really enjoy the show in this political climate? Personally, I love fashion, I shop at Victoria’s Secret, and I watch the shows for fun. However, I think that while watching the show, it’s important to recognize all of the hardships that go into it, and how it was mostly created for the male gaze. It’s okay to consume media that is imperfect, as long as we view it with a critical eye.