Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Returns Tonight After Hiatus

Topline

The once-highly anticipated fashion event and television ratings juggernaut, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, will take place in New York tonight for the first time since 2018, after the annual event went on a hiatus amid a series of controversies that rattled the lingerie brand and declining viewership.

Key Facts

Who Is Participating In This Year’s Show?

Valentina Sampaio, a Brazilian model hired in 2019 as the brand’s first openly transgender model, said on Instagram she will be in the show. Gigi Hadid, a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show veteran, will also walk the runway, the company confirmed. Brazilian model Adriana Lima, who spent two decades as a Victoria’s Secret model and walked in 18 of its fashion shows, will also walk the runway. Other models set to walk include Barbara Palvin, Jasmine Tookes, Ashley Graham, Candice Swanepoel and Behati Prinsloo.

When And Where Will The Fashion Show Air?

The “pink carpet” before the show starts at 6:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, broadcast live on Prime Video, as well as on Victoria’s Secret’s Instagram, YouTube and TikTok accounts. The show begins at 7 p.m. EDT, broadcast on the same channels.

What Controversies Did Victoria’s Secret Face?

The brand faced a string of controversies in the late 2010s, including growing criticism over its lack of inclusivity for all body types. Its much-criticized “Perfect Body” campaign included photoshoots with only thin models, sparking a petition that garnered more than 30,000 signatures. One of the brand’s highest-profile models, Karlie Kloss, left the company in 2015, which she later said was because she “didn’t feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful.” Another model, Robyn Lawley, led a boycott of the brand in 2018, alleging it tells women “only one kind of body” is beautiful. The brand faced a wave of renewed criticism in 2018 when Ed Razek, then the chief marketing officer for Victoria’s Secret’s then-parent company L Brands, told Vogue he doesn’t think the show should feature models who are “transsexuals,” stating: “Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special.” Razek apologized days later, stating: “To be clear, we would absolutely cast a transgender model for the show.” He stepped down in August 2019, days after Victoria’s Secret cast Sampaio, its first transgender model. The New York Times published an investigation in February 2020 alleging the company had a “culture of misogyny” characterized by “widespread bullying and harassment of employees and models,” alleging Razek was repeatedly subject to complaints of inappropriate conduct, including attempts to kiss models and touching one’s crotch. Razek said the allegations were “categorically untrue, misconstrued or taken out of context,” and the company said it is “committed to continuous improvement and complete accountability.” Former L Brands CEO, billionaire Les Wexner, apologized in 2019 for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, whom Wexner had employed to manage his finances until he severed ties in 2007.

How Has The Company Attempted To Shift Its Image?

Victoria’s Secret replaced its “Angel” title for supermodels in 2021 with a new concept called the “VS Collective,” a group initially composed of seven ambassadors formed to embrace diversity, including Sampaio, openly lesbian soccer player Megan Rapinoe, plus-size model Paloma Elsesser and actress Priyanka Chopra. Last year, instead of having a live fashion show, the company released a film on Amazon Prime Video titled “Victoria’s Secret: The Tour ’23” that it called “part documentary, part spectacular fashion event.” Critics noted the casting was more diverse for the special and included open discussion of topics like LGBTQ identities and bodily autonomy.

Key Background

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was held annually between 1995 and 2018, and began broadcasting on television in 2001. The 2001 broadcast on ABC was a ratings hit, attracting 12 million viewers, and the show sustained that success for more than a decade, drawing nearly 10 million viewers on CBS in 2013. But ratings soon took a dive, declining year after year to a new low of just over 3 million viewers in 2018, the last show before the hiatus.

Big Number

$15 million. That’s how much the most expensive item ever worn at a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was valued to be. Model Gisele Bündchen wore the iconic “Fantasy Bra”—an item worn by one select model in each show—in 2000, the most expensive version of the bra that is worth millions each year.

Further Reading

Your All-Access Pass to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (Victoria’s Secret)

‘Angels’ in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret (New York Times)

Victoria’s Secret is overhauling its image. Is it enough to regain relevance? (CNN)