Hubris has a habit of causing one’s downfall and the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is no exception.
After months of speculation, the lingerie giant confirmed that this year’s show isn’t going ahead and there are no immediate plans for its return in the future.
L Brands (Victoria’s Secret’s parent company) chief financial officer Stuart Burgdoerfer said he thinks it’s important to “evolve” the brand, adding: “We’re figuring out how to advance the positioning of the brand and best communicate that to customers.”
It what was once described as the “best show in the world”, in which Amazonian-like women paraded down the runway in their underwear and flamboyant costumes, launching countless careers in the process.
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But in recent years, it has come under increasing criticism for its lack of diversity and inclusivity, one of the last hallmarks of the fashion industry’s repressive past.
This, coupled with the launch of Rihanna’s much-lauded Fenty lingerie show and accompanying fashion show, proved too much competition to continue in its current form. Fenty’s debut at New York Fashion Week last year was dutifully covered by the trade and mainstream publications, not only because of its celebrity founder, but because of its commitment to inclusivity of women of all sizes and races walking with unbridled confidence down the runway in their smalls.
Bella Hadid, who began walking in the show in 2015, and recently segued into Fenty, saying it was the first time she ever felt sexy on the runway and “never felt powerful” walking in her underwear before.
Although she didn’t name Victoria’s Secret, the writing on the wall was clear: even one of the most in-demand supermodels in the world didn’t feel empowered by the brand – so how on earth was the average woman ever supposed to?
Victoria’s Secret was originally created by the late Roy Raymond in 1977 when he felt embarrassed buying lingerie for his wife in stores and set up the once incomparable catalogue sales system.
Read more: 10 most depressing things models have said about training for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
Its business model may have become more sophisticated since then, expanding the annual fashion show from a standard production at New York’s Plaza Hotel in 1995 to a no expense spared presentation and turning its models into superstars.
But its ethos never evolved with its visionary marketing and merchandising teams and while it was clear the clothing was aimed at women, it was pushed to attract the male gaze.
Cancelling the show is of no surprise to those who have been following its slow demise over the last two years – reflecting in dropping sales and viewership of the show – culminating in former Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek’s comments last year that they would never hire plus size or trans models as they sell a “fantasy”.
In an interview with Vogue, Razek waxed lyrical about taking pride in the exclusivity of its offering – catering only up to a certain size in in its stock and only featuring exceptionally slim models as brand ambassadors, few of whom are women of colour. He added that that “no one has any interest” in a plus-size lingerie special.
In the past, former models have maligned their experience with the brand, acknowledging the pressure to look a certain way and fit a certain ideal. Erin Heatherton said she stopped working with the brand in 2013 after four years because of the pressure to lose weight. “My last two Victoria’s Secret shows, I was told I had to lose weight,” she told TIME magazine.
“I look back like, ‘Really?’ I was really depressed because I was working so hard and I felt like my body was resisting me. And I got to a point where one night I got home from a workout and I remember staring at my food and thinking maybe I should just not eat.”
Adriana Lima famously said she starves herself for days before she appears, including a 12-hour fast before the show, and Karlie Kloss most recently said she chose not to renew contract as 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.”
It’s a victory for campaigners of equality everywhere, but it’s also a reflection of a precarious time as it was revealed earlier this year that Victoria’s Secret’s CEP Lex Wexner’s name was dragged into headlines alongside Jeffrey Epstein.
Although he was not an employee for the company, he managed CEO Lex Wexner’s finances and, as per the New York Times, had “sweeping powers over [Wexner’s] finances, philanthropy and private life.”
He would pose as a recruiter for the catalogue and would allegedly abuse his relationship with Wexner to prey on aspiring models.
A statement by L Brands, Victoria’s Secret parent company, said; “While Mr. Epstein served as Mr. Wexner’s personal money manager for a period that ended nearly 12 years ago, we do not believe he was ever employed by nor served as an authorized representative of the company.”
They have since hired lawyers “to conduct a thorough review” into the relationship.
Mr Wexner sent an email to employees denying any knowledge of Epstein’s alleged crimes.
“When Mr. Epstein was my personal money manager, he was involved in many aspects of my financial life. But let me assure you that I was NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment.”
As Prince Andrew recently learned, an Epstein-affiliation is the death knell, even for the untouchable British royals.
But, it’s not all doom and gloom for the once thriving brand: in Dublin, during its first two months of trading in 2017, it made €64,000 per day. For any new business, that would be impressive, for one that is struggling internationally, it’s a miracle.
The three-storey building is in keeping with the Victoria’s Secret aesthetic, but it has emerged as something of a dark horse in the international investment of its parent company L Brands Fashion Retail Reland Ltd’s portfolio. In 2016, it ceased publication of its long-serving catalogue and since 2016, there’s been a 6% drop at its brick and mortar stores, another 2% dip in sales and, according to Forbes, it saw its fiscal third-quarter operating income drop 89% to $14.2 million from $120 million.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, it enjoyed revenues of €3.88m between opening day on December 5th last to February 3rd, 2018.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s still relative small potatoes to a global conglomerate whose eyes are fixed firmly on China, which informed most of the decision to host the annual fashion show in Shanghai in 2017, as they are increasingly keen to take a bite out the country’s $25bn lingerie market.
It’s fair to describe 2019 as Victoria’s Secret’s annus horribilis, but it remains to be seen how bright their future really is.
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