Key Takeaways
- Victoria's Secret is attempting a 2025 relaunch of its fashion show to regain cultural relevance.
- The brand faces challenges from past controversies, including ties to Jeffrey Epstein and outdated marketing practices.
- The 2025 show emphasizes inclusive casting, a shift from its prior objectifying image.
- Cultural shifts demanding diversity and body positivity significantly impact Victoria's Secret's brand strategy.
Deep Dive
- Victoria's Secret hosted a fashion show watch party in New York, initiating discussions about brand relevance and past controversies.
- The 2025 Victoria's Secret fashion show marks the return of the event, previously a major entertainment spectacle.
- The brand innovated fashion shows by integrating musical guests and television broadcasts, transforming them into entertainment events.
- From the late 2000s to early 2010s, the Victoria's Secret fashion show was a highly coveted industry event featuring major musical acts.
- Backstage interviews often focused on models' strict diet and exercise routines during this period.
- The 2000s shows were spectacles with celebrity attendees like Leonardo DiCaprio and Donald Trump, but were perceived as objectifying due to the presentation and predominantly male audience.
- The recent show's aesthetic mirrored the 2000s era with heavy bronzer, styled hair, and 'glitzy' presentation featuring push-up bras.
- Cultural shifts in 2025 emphasize criticism of diversity and body image issues, contrasting with a 'return to form' aesthetic seen in some trends.
- Journalist Amy O'Dell argues Victoria's Secret is struggling to understand contemporary culture, attempting to recapture its 2000s buzz.
- Social media reactions to the brand's relaunch were mixed, with some expressing enjoyment and nostalgia, while others questioned the return to its past aesthetic.
- Founded by Roy and Gay Raymond in the 1970s, Victoria's Secret aimed to fill a market gap for elegant, high-end lingerie.
- The brand achieved early success with its catalog model before being acquired by Les Wexner, who scaled it into a billion-dollar business.
- In the late 1990s, under Wexner, Victoria's Secret evolved into a media brand with a highly produced fashion show, drawing parallels to the Super Bowl.
- Victoria's Secret faced decline as its marketing and portrayal of women became viewed as objectifying and outdated amid evolving cultural norms.
- A 2018 interview with marketer Ed Razik caused controversy with offensive remarks about trans and plus-size models, further damaging the brand's reputation.
- Former head Les Wexner's association with Jeffrey Epstein, who held power of attorney and received significant assets, further tarnished the brand.
- Wexner stated he had severed ties after Epstein's arrest, but Victoria's Secret's failure to adapt to market changes during this period paralleled Epstein's downfall.
- Victoria's Secret's relaunch targets Gen Z through inclusive casting across ethnicity, body size, and gender, seen in a recent show featuring K-pop and Missy Elliott.
- The brand's mission has evolved from pleasing societal norms to promoting self-pleasure and diverse beauty.
- The effectiveness of these rebranding efforts in boosting sales and broader cultural appeal remains uncertain, despite positive reception for the inclusive show.