When the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Was #Cancelled

By the Editorial Board

For the last two decades, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was considered the “Super Bowl of Fashion.” Every year, millions of viewers tuned in to watch top models from around the world walk down the runway in extravagant lingerie ensembles. Chart-topping artists performed hit songs, as stunning models paraded down the runway in lingerie and the signature VS Wings of increasing complexity and beauty. Being selected for the show was an honor, with Victoria’s Secret giving several top models their big breaks— Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Adriana Lima— just to name a few. Every major supermodel from the late 90s onwards was featured in the show, and the show was a fashion staple for more than 20 years. However, in the spring of 2019, the glitz and glamour came to a shuddering end with the show’s cancellation.

So what changed? Progressive values. Seemingly overnight, Victoria’s Secret’s once appealing message and branding became antiquated, and representative of the problematic values of a bygone American era. The new progressive aim of ultimate inclusivity within consumer goods and advertising, especially concerning gender and body types, paints Victoria’s Secret as the perfect antagonist. 

It’s easy to view the Victoria’s Secret show cancellation as a singular event, but it’s part of a more significant and much more complex cultural trend. In the years leading up to 2019, the show faced a brutal maelstrom of controversy, with simultaneous accusations of fat-shaming, and transphobia. In 2019, after years of pressure, the show was finally canceled, cementing a growing trend of “cancel culture”, and symbolizing a pivot within the fashion industry towards egalitarianism. Victoria’s Secret’s demise was not an anomaly, but rather the latest victim in the left’s cultural revolution that has systematically dismantled and ruined companies, organizations, and people who do not pass the purity test of leftist orthodoxy. As a result, companies have kowtowed to progressivism not on the principle of agreement, but out of survival, creating a phenomenon referred to as “woke capitalism.”

The most common criticism about Victoria’s Secret is that the women who model for the brand represent “unattainable beauty standards.” Because all the women who graced the runway have historically the same type of body— tall, slim, and toned. The brand notoriously cataloged their models’ journey to runway-ready physiques in the gym through their “Road to the Runway” YouTube series. However, an article by Buzzfeed labels the rigorous fitness routines as a part of the problem. “The Victoria’s Secret behind-the-scenes coverage, meanwhile, shows the models working out as hard as they can so they can be “ready” for the runway, further solidification of the idea that there are only certain types of bodies who should wear a bra on a glittering stage.” Victoria’s Secret’s focus on their model’s pre-show exercise and diet regimens, as well as their skinny standards, led the Left to label them “fatphobic.” In an article by Vox, the author explains how Victoria’s Secret fading appeal is due to the unattainable beauty standards the brand perpetuates: “Victoria’s Secret may no longer be seen as the arbiter of sexiness it once was. It could be because what women want from their lingerie has changed, or because they’re tired of the ultra-narrow standards of beauty and sexiness the brand enforces.” These articles are just an example of the backlash towards the modeling and fashion industry that has led to a revolution of corporate marketing to keep up with the ever-evolving conditions of the Left.

Though the critique of Victoria’s Secret’s “too-skinny” models was loud, the brand had learned to coexist with criticism since the early 2000s. However, in a 2018 Vogue interview, the company’s CMO, Ed Razek, brought a fresh round of criticism to the table. In the interview, Razek was challenged on the brand’s notorious and unchanging beauty standards in comparison to competing companies. He responded candidly: “We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it. Still don’t.” When asked about incorporating transgender models into the show, Razek stated: “Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should... Because the show is a fantasy.” While trying to rationalize the brand’s lack of body and gender representation, Razek’s comments served only to generate a firestorm from the Left of unprecedented proportions. These remarks led to a mass cancellation of the brand, and of Razek himself on twitter, forcing Razek to first apologize and then step down. Whispers of the show’s cancellation began to circulate and were confirmed in the spring of 2019.

Razek’s firing and the show cancellation were quickly followed by a slew of concessions to the progressive Left. The brand hired its first transgender model and began running campaigns featuring a wider variety of body types. There is still no sign of the show’s return, as it seems the brand and its reputation are forever stained by their “fat-shaming,” “transphobic past.” However, even with the changes, the left will never accept the brand. Victoria’s Secret has seen steadily declining sales even with the changes. CNN reported that Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, L Brand posted a net loss of $366 million in 2019, with its stock year low, and the brand is in the process of closing 50 stores. This all begs the question, was it worth kowtowing? The backlash towards Victoria’s Secret is a movement generated by many aspects of leftism— and Victoria’s Secret capitulated to both while losing the essence of what Victoria’s Secret was all along. 

The Left seeks to undo forms of hierarchy in society. According to the Left, Victoria’s Secret reinforces hierarchy by establishing some beauty standards and body types as being more desirable than others. The logical argument for egalitarianism is unrealistic, unsustainable, and is antithetical to the principles of American individualism. Propagating equal outcomes and experiences enforces a false sense of reality, as natural inequalities within people exist from birth. The philosophical mechanism of the movement is inherently flawed, and a dangerous threat to what has made our society great in the past. In the case of Victoria’s Secret, instead of celebrating women who are graced with unique beauty and work hard to maintain their physique— the Left tore them down. The knee-jerk reaction that is “cancel culture” yet again reinforced to women across the country to act on envy instead of confidence, and to wallow in injustice rather than revere accomplishment.

The Left’s egalitarianism, along with the moral platitudes of “cancel culture”, has created an almost unbearable pressure chamber of leftist absolutism. In short, if you’re not with the Left, you’re against them. This absolutism has percolated into every crack of American society. From corporations bowing to the flawed demands of twitter mobs to the purity tests our politicians peddle but can never uphold. Victoria’s Secret didn’t live up to the left’s purity test, and they paid the price for it. So, how do we deal with this pressure? How do companies deal with pressure? I see two choices when it comes to dealing with the Left: stand up for your beliefs or apologize for un-progressive indiscretions. Victoria’s Secret chose the latter. But the brand’s apologies and alterations don’t seem genuine— because they’re forced. At the end of the day, “woke capitalism” is just that— contrived and insincere. Therefore, the Left’s cultural revolution is essentially forcing progressive marketing through fear of cancellation. There is no real sincerity behind the movement, it’s as authentic as the media within a dictatorship.

Photos via Eloise Magoncelli