Written by Jennifer Lau
Illustration by Francesca Corno
On the night of 13 October , my feed was flooded with influencers encouraging me to tunein to the Victoria’s Secret (VS) show’s comeback. After a six-year hiatus and a multitude of controversies, the VS show was back in full swing, putting in its full effort to reinstate its legacy after 2018’s lowest television viewership in history. With a promise to restore all the glory of its heyday, VS marketed the 2024 show as what ‘all the girls are looking forward to’. So, of course, I tuned in. Unfortunately, the conclusion is as follows: when it came time for the ‘extravaganza’, the show just didn’t seem to meet the mark. Let’s be honest: it felt generic, underwhelming, and was a hollow shell of what it promises to be. Are we witnessing VS’s renewed comeback or should we discount the return of the VS show for its unaligned vision?
The biggest topic of conversation is, of course, the collection. On the whole, I think VS played it safe and simplistic with its stylistic choices. The entire show was a blur of lace, sheer tulle, and predictable prints, including five collections with none that left a strong impression. In past shows, VS selected only their favourite models to wear the 1-million-dollar fantasy bras or its signature fantastical feather wings. This has, in part, established the VS show as the ultimate lingerie brand: the shock factor when the chosen Angel walks down the runway in elegant, ethereal pieces that stay on people’s minds long after the show itself. It’s no mystery why we see so many VS Angels on Halloween.
Capitalising on this popularity, the 2024 show put almost all models in various variations of wings, including a wired ‘Victoria’s Secret’ wing. This fell flat for me. While these wings offered a fantastical unique element to the lingerie, the inclusion of wings on every outfit, when only chosen models wore them in past shows, made the show feel over-produced and the wings obligatory rather than a stylistic choice. Who wants to watch a predictable show?
The cautious approach is again seen with Tyra Bank’s closing outfit. She closed the show donned in a black cape, full bodysuit and a simple diamond corset. The choice to have Banks end the 2024 show robed in what I think is a frankly boring outfit is just one indication of the VS team simply relying on her iconic status to create a ‘bang’. Would the judgemental Tyra of the 2000s approve of this? In my opinion, VS was terrified of a failed return – and made cautious stylistic decisions because of it – relying on their iconic model lineup to make an impression.
A key element of why Victoria’s Secret shows were a part of the cultural zeitgeist was due to the interactions between the models, audience, and the singers. Victoria’s Secret differentiated itself from other fashion shows for its standout pop culture moments with A-listers like exes Bella Hadid and the Weeknd’s interaction, and Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss’ combined bestie walk. The liveliness, the interactions between the models and singers, and the models’ playfulness in end-of-walkway poses were all what made it enticing and different from other shows. This year, the show was noticeably missing these elements, with model Mika Schneider even going viral for looking like she was barely invested in being on stage, let alone on the VS runway. The removal of such feels like a cautious attempt at a return, unable to shed its former shadow but also too frightened to create something new. Without these defining VS show features, what sets it apart from any other fashion show?
To me, the only model that made an impression was Adriana Lima, a long-time VS show veteran. Her walk brought back the energy of the past and reminded us of VS’s legacy. But just one model bringing Victoria’s Secret’s energy feels lacklustre and fails to capture the flirty and glamorous spirit the brand is known for.
If you ask me, the novelty of this year’s VS show rode on the back of our memories and nostalgia of past shows. Without its extravagant styling and powerful runway performance, it was just another lingerie show capitalising on the fame of its star-studded runway. My final verdict is this, with Victoria’s Secret shows’ iconic legacy, they owe it to their fans to bring back its creativity and energy if they want to maintain their standing as a cultural fashion hallmark.
Hey Victoria, you’ve got everyone’s attention now – don’t mess it up.
