Victoria’s Secret’s 2024 fashion show doesn’t fix the company’s misogynistic and homophobic history
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show reemerged from its six-year hiatus on October 15, 2024, and I’m exhausted already. Allure’s Danielle Pergament called the show “irrelevant,” quoting her daughter, who called the show’s body diversity “tokenism.” Kelly Stafford questioned if Victoria’s Secret has squashed the harmful diet culture consequences of their shows.
I wonder if we’ll ever learn to stop putting so much faith in capitalist companies.
Victoria’s Secret canceled their pageants indefinitely in 2019 following numerous scandals involving their problematic history and the lead marketing executive’s comments on women’s bodies and trans models. Just as news was hitting the mainstream about connections between Victoria’s Secret’s casting process, the company’s CEO/Founder, and Jeffery Epstein, the #MeToo movement picked up steam once again, and body positivity was at an all-time high in connection with Lizzo’s rise in popularity. As a society, we called into question the motives and consequences of Victoria’s Secret fashion shows.
There was a considerable collective effort from online feminists who worked hard to end this catastrophic company’s reign in 2018/19. Now, in 2024, I’m surprised so many are excited about its return.
Out of the clusters of thin models that took part in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2024, two were transgender models, Alex Consani and Valentina Sampaio, and a handful were plus-sized, including Paloma Elsesser and Ashley Graham. Some retired models walking the runway included Kate Moss (50), Carla Bruni (56), Tyra Banks (50), and Eva Herzigova (51).
Though these casting choices appear to be breaking barriers previously set by the company, the changes come too little, too late, with the rise of another weight loss craze wave with the Ozempic boom and the growing popularity of the rebranded “heroin chic” look. It was also extremely apparent in the differences between outfits how the company actually feels about these differing bodies. Those with more curves or aging skin were given dramatically less revealing clothing than their traditional Victoria’s Secret model counterparts.
Sure, congratulations on hiring your first trans models, but the inclusivity of this minority isn’t shown in the Victoria’s Secret collection without binders, tuck tape, bras mimicking breastplates, etc. How can anyone call this true inclusivity when casting is just a bandaid on a cut as deep as production lines, product catalogs, and the company’s homophobic, transphobic, fatphobic, misogynist past?
Please don’t take this as me exposing myself as a shrew. I LOVE LINGERIE. I love sex positivity! I love a scantily dressed celebrity on a red carpet. I hope Calvin Klein never stops marketing men’s underwear with shirtless hotties perfectly manscaped and manicured. I love a good Miami Swimsuit Show. However, I don’t like frauds, and Victoria’s Secret is giving me phony energy.
So many other lingerie companies cater to differing body types and needs, and their products don’t disintegrate after one wash. You know what I’m talking about, too; please show me one femme who’s had a pair of Victoria’s Secret undies or a bra that’s lasted longer than 6-months before pilling and cutting your skin. Show me a thong from VS where the crotch genuinely fits the width of an average person’s nethers. Prove me wrong!
In the meantime, let’s use more ethical and smaller companies that actually listen to their customers. Tomboyx started making all gender-inclusive items in 2013 and has a wide range of styles and sizes. Knix has revolutionized leak-proof underwear and broke barriers with models aged 50-81 in their campaigns. Of course, we’ve all seen how Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty has been championing plus-sized people, minorities, queerness, and persons with disabilities since it was founded in 2018. There are also plenty more smaller, independent brands to choose from! In truth, we no longer need Victoria’s Secret—we never really did.
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