It’s time the Victoria Secret Fashion Show changed. After years of promoting the stereotypical body ideal- thin, tanned and toned, I think its time they celebrated women’s bodies in all shapes and sizes.
Don’t get me wrong I love the show, every year I sit in awe as I watch the biggest supermodels from around the world gather in a glamorous location and strut the runway in elegantly designed bikinis and lingerie showing off their almost-too-perfect-to-be-true abs and toned legs. I won’t use the word role model because I think girls these days are raised to admire what they choose rather than what they are told is the ideal, butlet’ss remember these models do hold power.
Conversations around mental health have opened in the past few years and as a society we are more willing to talk about what causes issues such as low confidence. Fashion websites such as Misguided have vowed not to Photoshop models’ images meaning that stretch marks and cellulite are seen and accepted more openly and plus-size models such as Ashley Graham are featuring in top fashion magazines showing that women don’t have to be a size six to be considered beautiful.
This is all a step in the right direction, as allowing girls to accept their bodies will boost their confidence levels. But I can’t help but feel like society, as open as it claims to be, still prefers and seeks the stereotypical beauty we see in the media.
The Victoria Secret Show is the perfect example of this. It’s a reminder that the models used are what should be seen as aspirational, and we overlook this every year. Yes, when we watch we feel jealous. You would be almost crazy not to envy these women, but we also have to remember that it is the models’ job to maintain a perfect body and that professional stylists and make-up artists have helped to conceal any flaws that we could see. Of course they are probably naturally perfect, but again they have to be.
I would want the show to change completely, as it is one of the most glamorous hours of the year, but I think they should include a wider range of women.
They have already done amazing things to promote ethnic inclusiveness, the models featured varied in terms of skin colour, religion, ethnicity and much more. So why not do the same for body shapes?
It’s understandable that the people behind the Victoria Secret brand are trying to specify a gap in the market for teenagers and women of a certain style. People buy their clothes, their underwear, their fragrances and their phone cases to feel like they are a part of the brand, that they somehow fit with the ideal because they own the products. But surely if the brand was more relatable to more people the sales would increase further? I would respect the brand more for including a woman with fuller breasts, or someone with bigger hips. No-one is asking them to completely re-design their brand, just for it to be a truer representation of women today.
Maybe Ashley Graham will be the newest addition to the catwalk next year? Let’s keep hoping!