The Reemergence of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
Reflecting on the shelf life, and trend cycles tied to the female body and who defines them
In August of 1995, the first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show aired, forever changing the landscape of female fashion and body image. On the surface level, the VS Fashion Show is framed as being just that, a fashion show. However, for many of its viewers, it is clear that the spectacle has little to do with the garments that the angels are wearing. The show reached its peak in 2011, attracting nearly 10 million viewers each year and defining beauty standards for much of the 2000s and 2010s.
Growing up during the peak era of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show encompassed far more than just watching the event. For me and so many others, it meant poring over the regimens of models, mirroring their workouts, and dissecting their diets.
I spent hours watching YouTube videos of people documenting how their bodies changed after spending a week working out like a VS Angel. At a staggering 4 feet 11 inches, it did not take long for me to feel discouraged by my inability to mold my body into the one I saw on my screen.
It was not until 2017, when viewership started to drastically decline, that it seemed people were beginning to recognize the shadow cast by the event — the insidious impact it had on young girls’ perceptions of self.
Coincidentally, this era of fashion ushered in new body image standards, taking a sharp turn from the ‘super skinny’ ideal of the early 2000s. It was then that the KarJenners, among other celebrities, began to redefine what women’s bodies should look like.
Enter the era of the Brazilian Butt Lift and so-called body positivity. This period of time, remembered by big butts, full breasts, and flat stomachs, began to challenge the influence of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. For me, it served as a wake-up call for recognizing the transient nature of body standards.
After years of promoting thinness as the epitome of beauty, a paradigm shift began framing sexiness and desirability in a new light, favoring curvier figures.
The emergence of the Brazilian Butt Lift not only symbolized a physical transformation but also marked a cultural departure from homogeneous beauty standards. It, in some ways, empowered women to embrace their bodies with confidence and adopt a more inclusive and diverse notion of attractiveness.
This period of time was not entirely positive, though. Masked behind themes of body positivity, celebrities continued to propagate the notion that their newfound bodies were solely the result of diet and exercise. Rather than admitting to the cosmetic enhancements that “perfected” their curves, they claimed it to be authentic.
This new ideal for having a big, well-defined butt also came along with flat stomachs, ultimately reinstating an ideal that presents the coveted body type as always slightly out of reach. Body positivity might have been on the rise, but thinness has always lingered.
Despite layers of complexity to the body positivity movement, many audiences were actively calling for institutions to redefine beauty to align with new public narratives, including Victoria’s Secret, which they did. However, instead of redefining the Fashion Show in line with the public, the company chose a different path — eliminating the show entirely.
The absence of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show more clearly defined the brand’s intentions. Rather than emphasizing diverse body types, the focus seemed to be on surface-level inclusion within promotional materials, driven by societal pressures.
Now, with the growing popularity of pharmaceuticals like Ozempic and celebrities who used to be defined by their curvy figures opting in for thinner ones, has coincided with the revival of the super skinny ideal from the early 2000s. This revival, in turn, reignited an interest and market for the Victoria’s Secret’s Fashion Show, returning this September.
It seems that the company opted to wait until now for the body trend cycle to return to favoring thin bodies in order to reintroduce its Fashion Show, aligning with their original brands image.
The implication of this reemergence is hard to ignore — women’s bodies, like fashion, follow trends and are continuously asked to be redefined. What happens to the bodies that go out of style?
