2025 Victoria Secret Fashion Show

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion show is back again this year, but after last year’s revival flopped, audiences are left wondering if it’s worth tuning in this time. According to Forbes, the show “missed the mark” leaving many unimpressed with their attempt at inclusivity. For fans of the early 2000s glitz and glam, the rebranded sleek runway, minimalist wings and slick-back ponies, left a loyal fanbase disappointed. So what could VS do to convince us that this isn’t just a rerun of its glory days?

VS SHOW HISTORY

To understand the magnetism of the show we must look into its history. The first VS fashion show took place in 1995, and reflected stripped-back, casual and minimalism at the time. The show had no A-list performances or five-foot long wings, only the lingerie. Yet, it attracted enough attention to catapult the show into a phenomenon.

By 2001, the show had transformed completely. The runway glowed under bright lights, Mary J. Blige performed, and a $12.5 million dollar fantasy-bra stole the spotlight. The brand began to focus on its models, introducing video interviews, scouting segments, and one-on-one moments with the VS “Angels”. These ambassadors became synonymous with Victoria’s Secret itself. The angels were fantasy beings, unattainable in every sense, and idolized or sexualized by men and women alike. They sold not just lingerie, but a dream.

The 2000s and 2010s were Victoria’s Secret’s golden era, with each show bigger, flashier and more fantastic than the last. But as conversations around diversity and body image sparked in the late 2010s, the brand’s resistance to change became alarming. Many began to view the brand as out of touch with the evolving cultural conversations around representation and body positivity, leading to its subsequent end in 2018 due to declining viewership.

The rebrand

In the years leading up to its 2024 comeback, the brand attempted a full-scale rebrand. They introduced new brand ambassadors such as US soccer player Megan Rapinoe, transgender model Valentina Sampaio and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser. Replacing the angels with women the brand thought would be received better. VS seemed to be on a redemption arc, but the question remains: can a brand built on exclusivity truly transform into one of authenticity and diversity?

The show in 2024 reignited this debate. It felt too cautious, scared to offend the audience, yet too afraid to take creative risks. The production felt like an imitation of its prime years, no longer the spectacle it once was. While the casting had improved with a greater array of skin tones and body types, this is still Victoria’s Secret – the toned abs and immaculate face cards were not enough to convince the public that these models were anything but the conventional beauty standard. The show was a step back from the inclusive campaign, and a failure to genuinely challenge the brand’s own definition of beauty.

Victoria’s Secret is caught between two lovers: the nostalgia of its glamorous past, and the demands of a more progressive future. To me, the brand seems more shallow than ever, its attempt to fix their own image before reconciling the culture they helped shape – of exclusion and unrealistic beauty standards, is in no way any means to build good rapport amongst your clientele. As a longtime fan of the shows, I hope to see VS recapture the buzzing, thrilling feelings of the past with a true promise of diversity and moving beyond surface-level fixes.