The Victoria’s Secret show is over, but are we still feeling empowered?

This week, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show returned after a six-year hiatus, promising an event that “reflects who we are today.” What does it mean? Deliver a more inclusive, empowering and diverse experience for your customer base. While this breaking news crossed some people’s minds, my very millennial 30-something women group chat lit up. Will the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show empower us? My experience with Victoria’s Secret goes back a long way. When I was in high school, I used to go to friends’ houses that had free TV and watch it. Adriana Lima was the screensaver on our family’s shared computer (I was 13 and my parents didn’t know how to change screensavers). My high school friends and I had our favorite Victoria’s Secret Angels. It’s like an elementary school student having a favorite Pokemon.

I personally was very impressed with Adriana Lima’s pre-show liquid diet. The woman did not drink water for 12 hours before the show as it caused bloating. What a dedication! I couldn’t do my biology homework! On the other hand, some of my friends supported Candice, while others supported Gisele. All the way home from school we would argue about who was prettier and thinner, but we never thought about whether Victoria’s Secret models were empowering. Indeed, as I read Naomi Wolf’s The Myth of Beauty, I realized that capitalism’s spectacle of beautiful women was a marketing ploy to keep me oppressed under patriarchy. I did. But still, after reading about Brazilian models getting implants to appear on the runway, I started worrying that my shins were shorter than my thighs.

At some point, I read enough feminist literature, had enough therapy, and was busy enough to stop worrying (as much) about how I was responding to these women. I quit. As a straight woman, I also realize that most men probably wouldn’t find me uncomfortable even though my body doesn’t fit Doutzen Kroes’ exact measurements. would have helped me forget about them. And the rest of the world seemed to have forgotten about them too. Chantel Fernandez, co-author of Selling Sex: Victoria’s Secret And The Unraveling Of An American Icon, said in a conversation with Amy O’Dell on The Back Row that Victoria’s Secret’s “sales are… It’s not like we’re going to bury ourselves off a cliff.” Affordable bras. But they have become irrelevant. In 2019, the show was canceled due to declining viewership. This is because the sensitive 13-year-old no longer watches free broadcasts as much as he used to.

Consumers also had little tolerance for transphobic comments from executives like Ed Razek, and in a post-me-too environment, multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misogyny were made in 2020. Sometimes it was directed at him. Mr. Razek resigned, but he was not alone. A big problem for brands. Amid the body positivity movement, the avalanche of thin, mostly white women scurrying down the runways is starting to look toxic at worst and trashy at best. As a result, the brand has fallen into cultural obscurity.

I was initially surprised when Victoria’s Secret announced on Instagram that it would be back this year with the following post: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back and reflects who we are today plus everything you know and love: glamour, runways, wings, musical entertainment and more. ” The social media manager’s reference to fans calling for the return of the show felt optimistic. Still, I could see how they felt it was the right cultural moment. The Y2K revival made almost everything gruesome from the 2000s popular again, so why couldn’t they sprinkle in BLACKPINK or add a more diverse cast to make the magic happen?

On the pink carpet, it was clear that the show’s producers wanted viewers to feel empowered by Capital E. “The cast of 50 models from 25 countries is sure to wow everyone,” producer Jamie Shafer told Olivia Culpo. It’s out of scope and everyone is welcome. We cast everyone for confidence and intensity, and I think that’s what shines through. ” Well, did you all feel welcome? Did I feel empowered? I certainly had fun when Gigi Hadid and her perfect inverted bob burst through the floor and spread their wings. I was surprised too. After all, exciting new models have hit the runway, from Alex Consani to Paloma Elsesser to Jill Kortleve. Having a white, thin, American-looking blond woman open the show for a show that is supposed to be about diversity and modernity gives viewers a sense of who they are as a brand and about the show they’re about to watch. will send a message. Back when I was avidly tuning in in 2003, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Gigi was a casting choice.

It’s nice to see some models with curves, from Paloma Elsesser to Ashley Graham, but they were more revealing and had a little less runway presence than their “straight” sized models. . The vintage Angels, on the other hand, looked like they had been frozen in time and did nothing to convince me that they had broken their pre-show water fast. And yet, throughout the show, I happily messaged back and forth in a millennial group chat, cooed at the Hadid sisters’ dancing, squirmed in horror at Adriana Lima’s tights (why?), and along with TikTok I wondered where the big waves came from. Gone.

Gone were the fun costumes. The brand has appointed Joseph Altuzarra as its first atelier designer and former French Vogue editor Emmanuelle Alt as its stylist. But all that fashion took away from the show, which was always aimed at shilling affordable bras for its spectacle of naughty frenzy. I wanted to see Cara Delevingne dressed like a chaotic soccer player. After all, fashion month is over. Did me and my friends feel empowered at the end of the show? Watching models in their 50s prancing down the runway, some of whom you might think were curvy, I found it fun (always fun spotting celebrities – Kate Moss is there!) and was keenly aware that I hadn’t been to much Pilates lately. There’s only so much thigh gap, tiny waist, and tiny arms you can see before your 13-year-old’s Tumblr brain kicks into life like Ridley from Alien waking up from decades of slumber.

Tyra Banks closed the show, and it was nice to see the supermodel embrace her curves after years of dieting in public. But she’s the same woman who spent decades fat-shaming America’s Next Top Model contestants in front of millions of teenagers. Indeed, she was the perfect person to close out the show. A contradictory character whose beauty ideals, despite her obvious desire for redemption, cannot shake their ties to disordered diets and a cultural moment that avidly prescribed white, cis beauty standards. The 2024 Victoria’s Secret Show wasn’t a triumphant moment for intersectional feminism, but I didn’t even think about water fasting and forgot about it as soon as it was over. Considering my previous experiences with Angels, this was probably the most I expected. Still, the question arises: where does the runway go from here?

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Read the original article on ELLE Australia.