US Trends

victoria secret fashion show

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show began in 1995 as a glitzy lingerie runway and has since become a flashpoint in wider debates about beauty standards, inclusivity, and brand reinvention. In recent years it was canceled, then revived in new formats, and the latest 2024 iteration drew heavy criticism online for failing to live up to its promised “modern” reboot.

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: Quick Scoop

What it is

  • The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is a branded runway event where models (“Angels”) walk in elaborate lingerie, wings, and themed costumes set to live music.
  • The first show took place at New York’s Plaza Hotel in 1995 and evolved into a major TV/streaming spectacle and global marketing engine for the brand.

Rise, hype, and peak era

  • Through the late 1990s and 2000s, the show became a pop‑culture event, featuring supermodels, multimillion‑dollar “Fantasy Bras,” and performances from major music stars.
  • Iconic elements like oversized Angel wings and themed segments (e.g., “Angels,” holiday sets, fantasy storylines) helped it stand out from typical fashion shows and drove massive ratings.

Criticism and cancellation

  • Over time, the show faced growing backlash for promoting a very narrow, ultra‑thin, mostly white beauty ideal and for tone‑deaf moments, such as the controversial Native American‑themed outfit in 2012 that was later cut from broadcast.
  • After criticisms around lack of inclusivity and changing consumer attitudes, the traditional televised show was halted after 2018, with the brand publicly acknowledging the need to rethink its marketing and image.

2024 reboot and “failed” comeback chatter

  • The company brought back a runway‑style event in 2024 with heavy PR about inclusivity, diversity, and a “modernized” vision of the show.
  • However, commentary and analysis videos argue that the 2024 show “failed” because it did not go far enough with body diversity, still leaned on old aesthetics, and looked under‑budget and creatively weak compared with its heyday.

What forums and fans are saying

  • On forums and social platforms, common discussion threads include whether the show can be reinvented without its old “Angels only” fantasy, and if nostalgia alone can save it in a post‑#MeToo, body‑positivity era.
  • Some users miss the over‑the‑top spectacle and music performances, while others feel the format is outdated and prefer more inclusive, less sexualized approaches to lingerie advertising.

TL;DR: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show went from 1990s marketing masterstroke to global TV event, was canceled after criticism, and its 2024 revival is trending mostly because many viewers think the reboot did not truly fix the old problems.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.