What Was Missing From the Victoria's Secret Comeback Show

What fantasy is the brand selling in 2024?

Not to kick things off discussing my unmentionables, but I purchased my first pairs of Victoria’s Secret underwear approximately 24 years ago in the throes of its success. I bought a bunch of thongs. I felt like an adult. I felt sexy! (Which is sad given I was barely a teenager. The ‘90s, what a time!) Then I got older and wiser and I went anti-thong many, many moons ago. Who wants a permanent wedgie? I’d rather go commando.

But then, over a Labor Day Weekend, a holiday known for being horny (????), I found myself at a mall in Texas — with my mother, of all people — shopping for thongs again. At Victoria’s Secret.

Said unmentionables.

Victoria’s Secret has never really left my personal stratosphere because I am a die-hard fan of Love Spell body mist. I’m not a girl — I am a woman, yet the cherry blossom and peach still do something for me. While I used to douse myself in the spray and then slather myself in its accompanying body lotion, now I layer it under some of my favorite fragrances: Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, Kayali Vanilla, and most recently Glossier You Reve, which has notes of buttercream and plum butter that are to die for. (I say this as someone who smells horrendous in the original Glossier You.) I’m still a sucker for Love Spell. If I had the chance, I would create the eau de parfum version and become a billionaire.

Despite this passion for their body mist, I was surprised to find myself shopping at a Victoria’s Secret again, especially in my 30’s. Did I really need a black V-string with gold hardware or a gaggle of Halloween-themed mesh thongs? (The answer is, apparently, yes.) Or did I just want to feel a nostalgic rush that millennials are wont to do?

I have similar feelings about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. When they announced the show was returning, I admittedly was giddy, because while this show did promote toxic beauty standards (hindsight yadda yadda), it was appointment television when appointment television was relevant. You felt a sense of community watching this show. I’d live-tweet it! Once, I tweeted this image of a baby platypus with a caption like, “How I feel during the VS Fashion Show: bald and bloated” and Chrissy Teigen retweeted it, when a retweet meant something. (Find me over on Threads, btw!)

It’s me.

During that time, from 2013-2016, the show was full of thrills and surprises. I remember Taylor Swift releasing 1989 and then performing at the show with her former BFF Karlie Kloss walking the runway. Remember when Ariana Grande almost got knocked over by an Angel? When Bella Hadid walked the runway shortly after she and her ex-boyfriend, The Weeknd, broke up? She strolled by him with a sullen expression and the hottest she’d ever looked as he performed at the show, looking longingly as she passed by. When Cara Delevigne made her debut, when people were calling Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid “wannabes” when they’re now bonafide supermodels? When Behati Prinsloo walked and her husband, Adam Levine, cheered her on adorlingly from the front row?

Ariana fighting for her life.

Every woman rooted for Bella in this moment.

Women and men were both psyched to spend a Tuesday night on the couch to watch half-naked women strut their stuff in lingerie, and more excitingly, the campy outfits. This was my era of the VS Fashion Show and it was awesome. Until it wasn’t.

Where does Victoria’s Secret fit in 2024? This is a question I’ve been getting a lot the last few weeks, ever since I expressed interest in not only watching the show, but attending. (I even came to New York early in the event I could snag an invite — perhaps next time…) Polling my followers on Instagram, the response to whether people were actually excited was a resounding and blunt “no.” Speaking with colleagues, they were also disinterested — they didn’t apply for credentials and remarked they were only watching to see how bad it would be. And I get it — the brand’s fall from grace was swift and necessary.

Let’s recall: VS had barely any diversity — let alone body diversity. Then you may recall this head-scratcher: in 2017, CMO for L Brands (who used to own Victoria’s Secret) Ed Razek said, “If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have … ‘Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show?’ No. No, I don’t think we should. Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is.” This quote swiftly took down the brand. Viewership for the show in 2017 dropped, transgender Youtuber Nikita Dragun responded with a video “selling the fantasy” that accrued over 15M views, and overall people started to lose interest in Victoria’s Secret.

Then the brand attempted a pivot that, to put frankly, was bizarre. Mostly because it wasn’t what anyone asked for. Instead of giving us a show (and a brand) with diversity and inclusivity, in 2021, they rebranded (kind of?) with a new group of “Angels.” But there was no lingerie and no angel wings. At this time, their former sister brand, Abercrombie & Fitch, seemed to learn its lesson by becoming more size-inclusive by offering a new Curve Love line. It felt like everyone was growing up and Victoria’s Secret was stuck in what they thought they should do versus evolving the brand people knew and loved.

Which leads us to 2024. The show is back, but what fantasy is being sold this go-around? I want to stress that in a TikTok world, the brand is not irrelevant — TikTokers recreate Victoria’s Secret makeup and recount iconic moments from the show for fodder; former Angels are revered online. Bombshell Perfume even made headlines a few years back for being an insect repellent. And while the previous iterations of the show felt outdated for the lack of body inclusivity, unfortunately, we’re seeing sickly-skinny body types making a major comeback in mainstream media do to GLP-1 abuse. On the flip side, women have become more body positive and sex positive than ever before. So perhaps the stage was metaphorically set for a comeback.

Watching the show, nothing changed. (With the exception of the models, which I’ll get to.) It was an hour-long program with models showcasing lingerie, with fantastical wings many of them could barely walk in. The three performers were Lisa, Tyla and Cher. If you’re not familar with the former two, you’re probably a millennial (or older). And while both are massively popular with huge fanbases, they aren’t household names (yet). However, they were smart choices. Even though this show caters to those who used to watch it before (read: millennials), the goal is to capture a new, younger audience, and those two do the trick.

Ideally, they would have secured one of the pop girlies who released an album this year, but VS had a lot against them: Feminominon Chappell Roan notoriously (and vocally) hates capitalism. Roan is a loose cannon, and — I know this is going to upset people —