On November the 21st 2019 the Victoria Secret famous yearly fashion show was officially called off by show executives. Nearly exactly this time last year I wrote a blog post debating Victoria Secret's future in our developing society.
Last year they made a pathetic attempt to bring 'diversity' to the Victoria Secret show bringing in model Winnie Harlow, she is a well known and has been commonly used again and again for advertising and modelling jobs. She has vertigo which creates a mixture of skin colours all over her body. Even though Winnie has this condition she still has the exact same body type like the other angels. In my opinion the team knew last year that with the growing rise in popularity of Fenty that they were being left behind. Fenty launched a extremely popular Fenty x Savage collection which created a diverse full size range of underwear, with tonal hues designed to highlight all skintones, and diverse models cast from around the world.
A company memo obtained by CNBC, which was first reported in May, stated that Victoria Secret is "rethinking" the iconic fashion show it hosts annually.
I am unsure whether they will be able to 'rebrand' as they have stuck to there iconic image since 1977. To a society who now cares so much about being genuine, it almost feels like its being forced due to the fact the show's popularity took a dramatic hit of negativity last year. I think being transparent is such a vital part of being a brand that is able to stay relevant for the future and Victoria secret missed the boat and I think reacted to late. They didn't stay current, part of me thinks it's better to stick to what you believe your brand is about and finish there rather than conform for the sake of conforming. But saying that if they are planning a rebrand I don't think its going to be accepted by a society which can easily see through how transparent a brand actually is.
Rihanna hosted her Savage X Fenty show spectacle during New York Fashion Week - an event which aired exclusively on Amazon Prime on 20 September. Everyone knew the broadcasted show was going to be compared to the Victoria Secret shows. But Rihanna's event demonstrated a body-positive, size-inclusive approach to lingerie that celebrated and empowered a diverse spectrum of women, causing many to announce that she'd triumphed where Victoria's Secret had failed. Her models - who were of different ethnicities, sizes and shapes - didn't simply walk down a runway, they twerked, stomped and danced their way through the show.
I think this was a huge reason to pull out the Victoria Secret show this year. They just can't keep up or don't know what position to take?
“[The show] was a very important part of the brand building of this business and was an important aspect of the brand and a remarkable marketing achievement," Stuart B. Burgdoerfer, executive vice president of Victoria's Secret parent company, L Brands. As much as I can agree that the show created a huge vase spectacle with amazing beautiful costumes, the marketing technique will no longer work now if the brand isn't more diverse.
Unless Victoria Secret pulls something incredibly different out of the bag I really don't think there is any coming back from this. I think it was the right decision to pull the show from air this year, if they then decide to bring back the show next year it needs provide a lot more than the obvious diversity and bring in a range of different sizes but is it already too late? Have they totally missed the boat of brands developing and expanding with there diversity in our current society.