www.fastcompany.com: Congratulations, consumers of taste. You did it. You killed the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
The onetime television staple, which debuted in 1995 and usually airs in November, will not take place this year, according to Stuart Burgdoerfer, CFO of the brand’s parent company, L Brands, who announced the news in an earnings call yesterday. The cancellation follows steadily declining ratings and attempts to “rethink” the show’s image for younger consumers who saw it as outdated.
10 comments:
The free market has decided!
I love economics and find stories like this really fascinating, where what used to be an iconic event for a company has done so poorly with the new generation that it is forced to be cancelled. I mean, do I know what the VS Fashion Show is? Of course! Does that mean I have ever watched it or was planning to? Nope! It's just never resonated with me, and to be honest, I've never even really thought about it; I just knew it was a thing that existed. The show's declining ratings show me that perhaps my peers feel the same way. It's interesting to me that VS's marketing has fallen short as of late. They've realized that they need a new approach, and I'm really curious to see where they take that. I guess "objectify yourself to impress men" is a message in their marketing that does not speak to this generation!!
When I first clicked on this article, I was expecting to read that the fashion show was cancelled and being re-thinked because of the message that it was sending to young girls or even women. During high school, I watched this every year. I loved it. It was such a beautiful sight with beautiful women parading their best bodies in an extravagant setting. It was every girl's dream. Even for me who doesn't consider myself to be a "girly" girl, nor one who is into modeling and things of that sort, I still wanted to feel like a Victoria's Secret angel. But that's the thing... the fact that I was so far from what they were made me so self conscious- mostly my body. It was images like these and the way people worshiped these women and put them on the pedestal of "perfect women" that helped to make me so insecure about my body in high school. I thought that this was the direction that this article was going in- a conversation on reshaping beauty standards. With that being said, I completely understand and agree with the need to rethink how something of this sort is approached when it is used as another way to sexualize women. I will say, I do not agree that the Victoria's Secret fashion show is a strip show. The brand is mainly an underwear and lingerie based company. Yes, the way they advertise themselves is very tasteful and sexy. But it's more about feeling sexy in their clothing and having fun than being a strip show. Especially the shows. However, I do see how the women get sexualized or seen as sex objects, but that is more of a problem with the people seeing them in that way and less of a problem with the models and the company. Lots of underwear and lingerie is supposed to be seen as sexy, so a part of the territory is being sexy but in no way should they be taken advantage of nor seen as objects because of this. Which makes this a very tough one to deal with. I am interested in seeing what comes out of this period of re-visualization.
I think it’s really interesting that the Victorias Secret fashion show has died out. Before reading this article, i didn’t know that there was a time that the models didnt wear angel wings, that they were just modeling the lingerie. I guess that’s a little weird, but is it that much different from swimwear modeling? It creeps me out up the wazoo that men high up in the entertainment industries that have been found guilty in the guess who movement have some connection to companies like Victoria’s Secret. I think the thing that bothers me about a show like this, beyond the objectification of women and #metoo (which, don’t get me wrong, are so horrible, so maybe not worse but just a different issue) is the influence that these shows and models have on young women. Seeing these flat abbed models in popular culture without a doubt influences the way that young girls see themselves, which is promoting an unrealistic body standard during formative years of a girl’s life. In fact, today on black friday, I saw a 12 year old girl walk out of a Victoria’s secret with a bag full of lingerie. WHAT ON EARTH!!! I couldn’t begin to describe how I felt seeing that. All in all, I think it’s rightfully time for this show to go. I think that there is a way to empower women in their bodies, and feeling beautiful, and I'm interested to see how they take this in a new and re visualized direction.
I have spent more time thinking about my feelings on the Victoria Secret Fashion show than I would like to admit. On one hand, I see it as a showcase of lovely lingerie worn by beautiful women celebrating the craft of the underwear with unique themes. On the other hand, it is a toxic show that not only grossly sexualitzes these women, but perpetuates younger girls standards of looks and body types. Regardless of opinions, it has made a cultural landmark in the fashion world. If anything, I feel the fashion show should teach a lesson to future designers and consumers. Nothing lasts forever, no matter how much power you have and how scummy you are in your presentation, eventually audiences will lose interest. I believe a show like this can be done, but only if the models are more diverse in looks and body types and the presentation is not so dirty in its sexual glorification.
There is a lot here in terms of how the #Metoo movement has progressed for the best, and for the not so best. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has been a staple of the fashion industry and is regarded as one of the highest honors for many models like Heidi Klum to be a Victoria's Secret Angel. It can be highly empowering to be walking the run way, but that being said it also encourages a pretty sexist industry currently. The event is primarily watched by men, and as the article points out: its not that different from some of the content you'd receive from your local strip club. I think that in order for the fashion show to work out, they need to re evaluate what exactly the show is, what its doing for the world, and how they want to portray the women adn the show as a whole.
I understand why some people are concerned regarding this musical being cancelled due to concerns. If we are to cancel any show which makes people uncomfortable than what would be the point of art This being said, I believe there are some instances where not proceeding with a show due to concerns such as this one is the right decision. When it comes to racial conversation, productions that make PoC, or the minority uncomfortable is much different than making white people/ the majority uncomfortable. It is one thing to make social commentary on racism through shows like "N*****, digress", and it is another to make audience members wear stars of david or swastikas bases on if they chose to pay or not. I don't think there is a clear line that is to be drawn. Furthermore, we should not be telling students they are being too "sensitive"; they should be able and feel like they can stand up for what they believe in,
The tagline made me think that this article would be an attack on “sensitive millennials” and yet another thing that we have ruined. Instead, it is an unveiling and clarification of the fact that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was complicit in an incredibly corrupt culture. To be honest, I had never heard of the show, so I am not a part of the demographic of people who have become disinterested in engaging with the show, and perhaps can only speak on it in a limited way. In any case, I am hesitant to believe that Victoria’s Secret sales have declined due to a greater social conscience; I just do not believe that the sheer numbers of people who were buying their products would know about the facts outlined in the article. I suppose it is possible that people are making instinctive choices that prefer woman-first products and advertising (whereas Victoria’s Secret is arguably man-first).
Oh, thank god!! I saw an article title that someone reposted from Reductress after I heard that the Victoria’ Secret Fashion Show was officially cancelled and it read, “Maybe the Real Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Was the Devastating Body Dysmorphia We Developed Along the Way”, and honestly? I don’t disagree. This show was such a wildly toxic production based around the most twisted ideals of the value of a woman and her body, and what we “should” look like. From a very young age, every year that we got close to the show, I recall girls in my varying friend groups talking about the diets that the angels were on before the big event, and, with time, I watched my friends try out those wildly unsustainable and terrifying diets to try and fit that ideal. I mean I have mad respect for women pursuing careers in modeling, particularly women from this new wave that are advocating for the acceptance and celebration of diverse bodies just as they are.
Honestly, this isn’t surprising at all. Victoria Secret has been doing poorly over the past few years compared to their past sales. They aren’t keeping up with changing ideas of body image and what it means to be a “woman”. Other brands are realizing what consumers want and they are changing and adapting to the new market but Victoria secret has fallen short year after year. They came out with campaigns that somewhat reflected diversity but fell very very short when customers realized that the company wasn’t sincere in their belief in the importance of diversity. I agree with other commenters that it was always something fun to watch and think about but honestly it's just a toxic thing. I am a little upset about the designers of the show. Honestly, it was a great platform for costume designers and every other design aspect of a show of this magnitude, but sometimes the message that you are sending the viewers is much more important than a cool show. I am glad that this article says that it is only canceled for this year as of now. I think that Victoria Secret still has a chance to come back honestly, but with A LOT of rebranding and rethinking.
I am very surprised that they canceled the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show this year! It has been such a huge event for so many years that I just assumed it would be happening again this year. I have never really been a huge fan of watching the Victoria’s Secret fashion show so it doesn’t really affect me but I’m still very surprised! With everything going on with the #metoo movement I guess I am not that surprised that they are canceling the television program since it does make a show out of objectifying women’s bodies. Especially since Jeffrey Epstein was a close friend of the CEO of L Brands which owns Victoria’s Secret. Apparently Epstein was known for contacting wannabe Victoria’s Secret models and telling them he could help them get on the show. In all honesty I’m glad that the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. I think we need to start a new trend that involves all races and sizes of models being represented.
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