Fashion focus: Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2024

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is one of the most controversial and contested fashion shows in the 21st century. From 1995 to 2018, the annual promotional event was used to market Victoria’s Secret in high-profile settings. In 2019, the show was cancelled but has been able to reemerge in its original form for 2024 following the rebranded ‘The Tour 23’.

Although the show was the most diverse in age, body type, and ethnicity, the curvy models were styled poorly in comparison to the slimmer models

The key element of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows are the garments presented by qualified, successful, and celebrated high fashion models. However, this year there was a range of complaints from original fans of the show. There were complaints about a general lack of energy amongst models, with one model, Mika Schneider, trending for her lack of poses. Fortunately, she has managed to garner support due to being one of the only models without wings which has justified her performance. Despite this, the fact only a handful of models had no wings has encouraged further criticism from original fans who value the Victoria Secret hierarchy. These fans believe only models with signed contracts to Victoria Secret are classed as ‘Angels’ and thus are the only ones entitled to wear wings.

The show also warranted criticism from individuals in body positivity movements. These included complaints about Kate Moss and Tyra Banks, who were at the forefront of the show, due to their contributions towards maintaining harmful body standards and diet culture. Kate Moss, known for popularising the quote “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” and Tyra for her behaviour on America’s Next Top Model, are not largely celebrated by many due to these negative associations. Personally, I would argue that these two individuals were victims of the toxic culture created by larger corporations, and thus should not be made out as scapegoats. Furthermore, there were complaints that although the show was the most diverse in age, body type, and ethnicity, the curvy models were styled poorly in comparison to the slimmer models. In terms of styling, there were also comparisons made to the blowouts and styling of curly hair in previous years, demonstrating that the styling or budget had worsened.

A further important element of the shows is the impactful performances from high calibre celebrities. In the past, this included: the Spice Girls in 2007, Kanye in 2011, Rihanna in 2012, Taylor Swift in 2013 and 2014, The Weeknd in 2015, and Lady Gaga in 2016. In 2024, the show was graced by Cher, Tyla and, Lisa from Blackpink. However, in typical Victoria’s Secret Fashion, this didn’t occur without criticism. Both Tyla and Lisa, sporting wings, faced negative feedback from critics and fans. Lisa specifically faced harsh critiques with allegations of her lip-syncing during the majority of her set, which arguably limited the success of the show.

While we can critique elements of the show, I think we should prioritise supporting the work and efforts of those within marginalised communities

The discourse sparked by Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show demonstrates the impact of the show – however, it doesn’t always present Victoria’s Secret in a positive light. Irrespective of this, the garments within the show were beautiful, and the models performed incredibly well and professionally despite the intense level of pressure. The show was the most diverse yet, including two transgender models, Valentina Sampaio and Alex Consani, making history and waves for the LGBTQIA+ community. This positive direction for the show received levels of hate and criticism from transphobic corners of the internet who routinely misgender the models and use harsh language such as ‘infiltrated’ within their commentary. Therefore, while we can critique elements of the show, I think we should prioritise supporting the work and efforts of those within marginalised communities who, behind the guise of criticism, receive threats and hate speech, which endangers these communities.