They were definitely me again. Everyone thought they had their wings clipped too well. But this week, lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret again had a massive fashion show with stars on the catwalk and in the audience. Again the “angels”, the most high-profile of the brand’s models, strutted off with thin strips of fabric draped around them and wings on their backs. As usual, they looked like this was both fun and easy. But they failed to cover up what everyone knew: That Victoria’s Secret is in a tough fight to regain the position the brand once had, in a world that is far more skeptical than before about what they sell. STRIPED: Model Barbara Palvin gets ready for the Victoria’s Secret show wearing the brand’s famous pink stripes. But the characteristics do not mean the same to the public now as before. Photo: Reuters Once upon a time, more precisely in the nineties and 2000s, Victoria’s Secret had become a phenomenon, thanks to a cunning business idea. The stores offered feminine and often explicitly sexy underwear at an affordable price. At the same time, they differed from other chain stores by being sprinkled with feminine, old-fashioned effects. Here were large lampshades, black lacquered pedestals, fringes and perfume bottles. They focused on creating a place that seemed like it was reserved for women, driven by female desire dreams. At the same time, the brand’s models, long-haired, long-legged, thin and busty, looked like Playboy models. In other words: the brand was cheap, but could appear glamorous and rich in tradition to a teenager’s untrained eye. It claimed to give women what they dreamed of, to help them become what they wanted to be, but sold a certain type of female beauty and sexiness that had always been sold to men. HYPERFEMININE: Black lacquer and pink lampshades characterize Victoria’s Secret’s many stores. Photo: AP To make it even more attractive, Victoria’s Secret set up a competition, a hierarchy, between women. There were plenty of models posing in their underwear. But only a few were selected to be the brand’s “angels”. They were the ones who had their wings hung on their backs after the push up bra and thongs were in place, before they floated down the catwalk to be admired by an audience who were on a first name basis with them. Tyra. Alessandra. But then there were different times. In 2019, marketing manager Ed Rezak resigned, after making disparaging comments about trans women in an interview. Soon after, more stories about Rezak trickled out. They were about him harassing and making advances towards several of the models who worked for him. Those who complained could be deprived of prestigious assignments. Some lost the coveted wings. More and more former models spoke of a misogynistic culture where they were pressured to get thinner and thinner. They also experienced their bodies being described and commented on in inappropriate ways. And on top of it all, financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested and imprisoned for systematically sexually abusing a number of young girls and women. FOOLED GIRLS: Serial rapist Jeffrey Epstein made contact with young girls by pretending to be a talent scout for Victoria’s Secret. Photo: AP Epstein had been responsible for the finances of Victoria’s Secret owner Les Wexner. On several occasions he had pretended to be a talent scout for the brand, thereby securing access to new victims. It was an almost perfect disaster. Criticism rained down, both against what happened inside Victoria’s Secret and against the kind of role models they set up for girls. In November 2019, the brand announced that it would no longer host the famous annual fashion shows, with the angels as unattainable protagonists. In the years that have passed since then, not many people have expressed a deep longing for the Victoria’s Secret shows. But in the pink-striped backdrops, they worked hard to transform the brand into something that could be relevant and attractive to modern women. FOUNDER: Les Wexner began his career with one store in Columbus, Ohio, but became one of the main men behind the modern day Victoria’s Secret. Photo: AP Suddenly there were nursing bras to buy in the boudoir-like shops. Soccer player Megan Rapinoe, queer and athletic, and Paloma Elsesser, plus-size model and activist, were hired as spokespeople, along with several other women who didn’t look like the traditional winged barbie doll. This year’s catwalk included more types of women than before, including trans women and plus-size models, although not quite as many as critics would like. Otherwise, the lineup of models was almost comically star-studded. Here were Gigi and Bella Hadid. Angels of old like Tyra Banks and Alessandra Ambrosio. Irina Shayk and Adriana Lima. Kate Moss, who had never before demeaned herself to walk for Victoria’s Secret. Lisa performed. Cher sang. Was it a show of force, or was there a slightly too heavy aroma of desperation over the whole thing? Vogue came up with a breathless cover. The New York Times’ fashion commentator Vanessa Friedman, for her part, believed that the angels should have hung their wings in the closet for good, and that the session was reminiscent of an embarrassing school reunion. BACK: Tyra Banks, a former Victoria’s Secret Angel, was back on the catwalk for the brand this week. Photo: AP Some of the criticism against Victoria’s Secret seems overly light-hearted. What remains is that what is being sold is a male fantasy that women are pressured to live up to. That is of course true. But it makes me want to ask a follow-up question. Is it really the case that women only dress in skimpy and sexy underwear to please men? Does that mean that what women really want, women in general, are sensible panties and bras that shouldn’t be titillating? Can’t one actually want underwear that is uncomfortable, unnecessarily ornate and lacy, but conventionally sexy, for its own sake? To even like what you see in the mirror, even if there is no man present? It cannot be written off. And as long as that desire exists, perhaps there is a place for a seemingly repentant sinner like Victoria’s Secret. Notably if those on the inside are treated properly. BIG NAMES: Artist Cher performed as the new Victoria’s Secret collection was shown. Photo: AFP Until now, the brand is in a strange dilemma. What they were, the tacky English school, is a thing of the past. It dates from a time when famous women, pop stars as well as models, were almost expected to be sexually challenging. With a smile and an assurance that this was something they themselves wanted. But if Victoria’s Secret gets too close to everyday life, too close to lived life, they no longer have an identity. Then they will presumably be outsold by other brands. Those who realized early on that the culture was heading in a different direction, towards the more unfussy and body-positive, and who have a credibility that Victoria’s Secret does not get through a couple of panicky hires. But for now, the angels stagger unsteadily forward, towards an uncertain future. Published 21.10.2024, at 19.52
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