The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is one of the most talked about television and fashion events of the year. As a young female, this event takes up a lot of space on my social media feeds, my subway rides, (Times Square- 42nd Street was decked out with advertisements these past few weeks) and the topic always finds a way to work itself into conversations. We, as a society, are enchanted by the allure of the angel wings. In a sense, I understand it. It is a magical, pink event with fancy satin robes. The backstage footage is reminiscent of a slumber party with your best friends. The hottest celebrities are in attendance, and the Angels themselves have reached a celebrity status. It is also hard to resist the allure of Victoria’s Secret in general. I spent many middle school mall trips sneaking in there with my friends. It is a right of passage for unaccompanied middle schoolers I suppose. We usually ended up just buying perfume or lip gloss, but that didn’t matter. This brand aims to appeal to women wanting to feel beautiful and powerful, and I, along with many others, definitely fell into this fabricated trap.
Although I certainly went through my Victoria’s Secret phase, I never quite understood the obsession with the fashion show. I’ve watched it a few times in my life, mainly to be socially relatable, but I never experienced the excitement that others seemed to feel. I did not understand why, though, and kept trying to pretend to love it as everyone else did. As I have grown older and began to examine this show more carefully, I’ve come to realize that the reason it did not strike a chord with me is because it offers very little. It is liberating to understand this, and not feel the need to buy into the hype.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show always falls at the start of the holiday season and serves a promotional tool for the company. That is all it is. By engaging in this event, you are essentially buying into consumerism. That is fine, but it is then important to look at the philosophy of the brand that you are engaging with. Victoria’s Secret capitalizes on women’s insecurities, and feelings of not being enough. Sure, it hides under layers of sparkles and satin, but the company aims to gain revenue through women purchasing their products to feel sexier or more beautiful through a product, instead of building up those virtues from within.
In keeping with the idea of women not being enough, Victoria’s Secret then promotes an “ideal woman” through these Angels, whose image is entirely unattainable for the average woman. Articles are published detailing the diets and workout regimes of the Angels, implanting the idea that women should take notes from them, while also implying that these body types are ones that we should strive for. The idea of women even having to prepare their bodies in such a rigorous way for their job is problematic, but our society glamorizes this process by continually writing about it. The women do not represent a body diversity in the slightest, and their entire preparation process is about minimizing and restricting certain things (no processed food, clean eating only) to conform to an image that is in place for them. This is where I get preachy. Women of the world, you should never feel the need to restrict yourself to achieve anything. This is not healthy. Your “ideal body” will never be the one that you can only maintain by depriving yourself. You deserve so much more than that. You do not need to shrink, both literally and metaphorically. This society loves to diminish women. Please do not do it to yourself.
The company strives to hire women that not only fit the physical standards of the job but are also “relatable.” This is perhaps the scariest part, because this company does understand the influence that they have with women, and they seem to believe that what they promote is relatable. Either that or they do not care.
It is important for a woman to be confident in whatever way she chooses, but Victoria’s Secret presents a very cookie cutter version of confidence. Pretending that confidence is an added byproduct of a perfect body is detrimental to the way that women view themselves. And the brand does not care, because it sells.
Arguments in favor of the Fashion Show promote this as a feminist event, putting women at center stage – and confident women at that. This may have been true at one point, but in 2018, non-inclusive feminism is generally accepted as falling flat. The casting of the show represents a fabricated version of what women are. But maybe that is the point. After all, would we enjoy the event as much if the models were people that we see in our everyday lives?
I did not really start to consider how problematic Victoria’s Secret was until Aerie started promoting their AerieReal campaign. For those unfamiliar, the brand’s aim is to feature real women in their advertisements, cater to a diverse clientele of women through their sizing, and promote body positivity as a whole. Shopping at Aerie is a cathartic experience for me. It feels like a special club, where we are all included. The lighting is natural, the displays are minimal, and the interior does not center around blown-up photos of the models (even though their models represent a wide range of body types and aren’t retouched). It is authentic and welcoming and makes me feel good about myself. This brand champions women and creates products that celebrate strong and well-rounded females. The models are never just a face, but a three-dimensional person. They are people like Aly Raisman, who is the epitome of strength and dedication, but also shares her whole truth, exposing the way in which women with passion are exploited in society. These models have a voice, and their existence extends far beyond the brand that they promote. I never got that from Victoria’s Secret. After coming to this realization, I began to realize that Victoria’s Secret is not just a store, but a roadblock in the fight for true representation of women in society.
I certainly do not intend to place one brand over another in this article, nor is the purpose to create a rivalry between the two. I want to present the way in which my thinking shifted about where I shop. Before, I had not even considered the social responsibility that brands have, and how my money can support certain ideals. With this in mind, I have really changed the way I shop. Sure, no one is perfect, and I do purchase mindlessly often, for reasons of necessity or finance, but when I have the choice, it makes me happy to support stores that promote an important message. Aerie, you can take all my money.
I also do not intend to bash the Angels themselves. They are working extremely hard to be able to walk in this show. They deserve to feel beautiful and important on this night, (as every woman should all the time) but they should not have to reach such impractical standards to be successful. I feel for them. They are successful women. But women should not be expected to conform to ridiculous standards to be successful.
Fortunately, this year’s fashion show had its lowest number of viewers yet. This is likely because of our more body positive society, as well as executive producer Ed Razek’s comments. He comments on his lack of interest in diversity, both in terms of size and transgender representation on the runway. It is terrible, but I am not surprised. This show has been problematic for a long time before these statements were made. If anything, they were just a more blatant representation of what this company stands for, and at least people are beginning to realize this.
There is so much pressure on women in general to be something that they are not. The conversations around the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show are just another way to plant seeds of self doubt. I wonder what would happen if we all just decided that we are enough, as we are right now. It would be interesting to see which brands survive.