Victoria’s Secret Returns to the Catwalk with a New Attitude

Victoria's Secret put on its angel wings again and reappeared on the catwalk after a six-year hiatus.

The return was loud and proud, with A-list celebrities, influencers and a multigenerational, all-female musical lineup of Cher, Tyla and Lisa showing up for the live event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

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Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Grace Elizabeth, Taylor Hill and Tyra Banks, who last performed for Victoria's Secret in 2005, were all on the catwalk.

The show opened with fabulous pink princess looks led by Gigi Hadid, while iridescent purple ensembles channeled female superheroes. Rock 'n' roll black lace and leather, as seen on surprise supermodel icon Kate Moss, mixed more everyday styles with the brand's signature sexy lingerie look (towards the end of the show there was also a small amount athletic clothing in the form of leggings and zippers). -up hoodies in the mix), before closing the show with Cher's "Believe" featuring pink and red Christmas-themed ensembles.

There were wings galore, in many shapes, sizes and materials such as feathers, candy wrapper tulle, sequins and more. But the brand was truly flexible with its megacast of models, filled with Victoria's Secret models and icons from the past decades.

The show, which was streamed live on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Amazon Live, was heavy on both glamor and glitz and infused with a direct commercial purpose. For the first time, the lingerie on the catwalk - minus the wings and theatrical parts - was immediately available for purchase.

Victoria's Secret is thinking differently and exuding more confidence as it works to get its business back into growth mode.

It's telling that the brand was ready to come full circle and define itself for the future - and do that balancing act via a global livestream.

"It will always be about feeling sexy," said Janie Schaffer, chief design and creative officer, in an interview before the show. "We are Victoria's Secret. But it's sexy for everyone. We have 57 bra sizes. We're going all the way up in bra sizes. We have a completely inclusive and beautiful lingerie collection, and we really wanted to celebrate that on the catwalk."

There were the famous angel wings and models, of course, but also, as Schaffer put it, "confident women of many different shapes and sizes."

"Behind the scenes, it's a completely different animal," she said, specifically pointing out what the runway will look like and be available for purchase.

Previously, the show was edited, arranged and polished before being broadcast on terrestrial TV.

"This is about living life, in the moment. Whatever happens, happens. Truly an authentic journey," says Schaffer. "Everyone can see it in real time."

Victoria's Secret caused a sensation when it televised its runway in 2001, prompting 12.4 million viewers to put down the remote.

But it was part of a va-vavoom approach to sexy that ultimately left the brand out of step with the cultural moment as the market evolved and younger, more diverse brands entered the scene.

Now, after some time in the wilderness, a corporate spinoff, sales and stock prices are falling and, last month, the appointment of a new CEO - former Savage x Fenty CEO Hillary Super - Victoria's Secret made the jump back to prime time.

The brand is clearly looking to boost the show. First-half revenue fell 2 percent to $2.8 billion, with a net profit of $28.2 million. Full-year sales are expected to decline by about 1 percent.

Before the show, the atmosphere backstage made it clear that a number of things had changed.

Ashley Graham, who was preparing to walk into her first show for the brand, said: "This is about representation and this is about Victoria's Secret saying yes to everyone who has always felt bigger because they didn't provided service. And that's the biggest thing. I said yes to VS because I honestly wanted to make our bodies aware on the catwalk."

"I'm so glad Victoria's Secret finally got the memo," Graham said. "They go in bigger sizes. They have round queens everywhere."

Gigi Hadid said the increased focus on diversity was "necessary and required by the people who watch and love this show."

"It's important that a few years have been taken to not only rethink this project, but also to just let the brand take steps," she said. "This is a show led by women who are leading the charge within this company and I think you can see and feel that we all just feel good to be here."

Alex Consani, the 21-year-old fashion student turned TikTok "It" girl, was also on hand to prepare for the show.

"I'm transgender and I think it's very important that people like me are seen as beautiful on the catwalk, and especially in an environment like this, which has always been very cis-oriented, it's important to include a lot of different people to fetch. kind of people and I'm just grateful that I'm being thought of, you know, in that community," she said.

While many of the show's trappings were the same, the emphasis was different. And Victoria's Secret was betting that viewers would see some of what they liked from previous shows and be drawn to the more modern version.

Sarah Sylvester, executive vice president of marketing who orchestrated the show's return with Schaffer, said the brand is paying more attention to the people actually wearing the lingerie.

"Putting the customer at the center of everything we do was a huge turning point for us," says Sylvester.

And she said the customer was "loud" about wanting the full show back. "We can't argue with that."

Shoppers will also be able to immediately experience a bit of glamour.

"The fashion show is our holiday collection, and the holiday collection is our fashion show," she said. "Having that connectivity back is just a good, smart business move, but we also love how that makes it so much more accessible and inclusive for women to be a part of."

Likewise, people can watch the show on their terms on major social platforms.

"Allowing customers to watch where they want, when they want, whether that's live or the next day. We're really excited about how we're making content more accessible," she said.

On TikTok in particular, Sylvester said the brand has seen its followers double in recent months. "The content that is more unpolished and behind-the-scenes than ever before by the team on the ground is performing three times better than our normal content," she said.

- With contributions from Alex Badia, Noor Lobad and Emily Mercer

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