American lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret announced Wednesday that its annual fashion show, scrapped after 2018 due to sluggish sales and diminishing audiences, will return this fall bringing high-profile models back onto its catwalk.
“We’ve read the comments and heard you,” the group said in its post. “The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is BACK and will reflect who we are today, plus everything you know and love — the glamour, runway, wings, musical entertainment, and more.”
Back in November 2019 the Ohio-based company announced the cancellation of the show, which had been criticised as sexist and out of step with the #MeToo movement that had gained support.
The runway show, created in 1995, was followed by millions worldwide, but viewership dwindled over the years. In 2014 it drew nine million Americans viewers; by 2018 the figure was barely three million.
Famous models like Adriana Lima, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bundchen have attended the glamorous event, where being one of the show’s alleged “angels” guaranteed a certain level of celebrity status.
Performers Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Kanye West, and Taylor Swift also participated.
Although the board approved Victoria’s Secret’s spinoff into a stand-alone company, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, the label remained under the ownership of L Brands.
Now known as Victoria’s Secret & Co., the company consists of its lingerie line, the youthfully oriented Pink brand, and Victoria’s Secret Beauty, a division dedicated to makeup and accessories.
The company had suffered from its association with the case of New York financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 after being charged with sexually assaulting underage girls.
Epstein had been close to Leslie Wexner, the head of L Brands, who had assisted in acquainting him with Victoria’s Secret fashion shows and the jet-set lifestyle.
The company recorded $6.12 billion in sales in 2023, a 2.6 percent decrease from the previous year, and $181 million in net income as opposed to $173 million in the previous year.
The company operated more than 1,300 stores globally by year’s end.
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