Bobbie Dennis

So, the secrets out: pop culture’s annual parade of all things glamorous and feminine, has been cancelled. After 24 years, the angels have finally hung up their wings following backlash over the marketing of Victoria’s Secret. What a time to be a woman! We simply have to look to the origins of the company to see how the interests of women in world of Victoria’s Secret are a flimsy, cooperate afterthought. The brand was literally created for male consumption designed as a place for awkward-embarrassed males to purchase undies without feeling uncomfortable. This lack of female focus from the offset encapsulates this idea of women operating merely as a male accessory, nothing more, nothing less. (Alexa play James Brown, It’s a Man’s, Man’s World).

While in recent years, the company has increasingly marketed the brand towards making women feel empowered, the underlying motivation behind the brand remains rooted in these tired male fantasies. Famous for its ‘angel’ aesthetic and the depiction of the ‘physically perfect’ woman, Victoria’s Secret continually pedals this idea that in terms of body type, there is only ideal. Curves? Sexy? You must be joking. In the world of VS, plus size and beauty are mutually exclusive and what’s worse, is that for years pop culture has idly consented to giving men agency over what a woman should look like.  

Take for instance the controversial 2018 Vogue interview where upon Razek, Victoria’s Secret former chief marketing officer, also a 70-year-old man lol, spoke of his refusal to cast plus sized or transgender models. His excuse? “Because the show is a fantasy”. A fantasy? A fantasy for who? Definitely not the women who are being caged in the notion that they must look a particular way to please …of course, the man. I can’t think of one reason why a woman would volunteer to be judged against a specific type of woman. The objectification of women is deafening. It really does make you question whether men such a Razek have ever encountered a woman, let alone acknowledge that she is a living, breathing, thinking, human.

But hold on a second, they have made SOME changes. The 2018 line up, depicted as its most diverse show ever (what a feat!!), included an array of different ethnicities including asian, black and hispanic models whom occupied 50% of the runaway. Oh, and 37-year-old OG angel Adriana Lima also walked the infamous catwalk despite the mean age of the group being around their early 20s. So at least it’s okay to be “a little old”. Fantastic. A clear win for feminists.

I’m joking. Obviously. Of the 52 angels, not one was plus sized. Despite the attempt at diversity, there is no escape from the puppet mastery of old rich white men who think they have the authority to decide what beauty is.  But why are men still holding all of the cards? Who decided this toxic one-dimensional notion of beauty?

But things are changing.

The fantasy that Victoria’s Secret is marketing is no longer endorsed. Women are now stepping forward, challenging this out of date stereotype which perpetuates this myth that a woman’s sole role is to vie for the attention of a man. Things are not going well for the company, with views of the show dropping from 12 million to 3 million last year it appears that their marketing tool turned has blunt.

Unfortunately, rather than doing a Bear Grylls (improvise, adapt, overcome) and genuinely seeking to empower women the company instead announced that the fashion show is no longer “the right fit”. Instead of reflecting and supporting actual women, they would rather shut down the show than involve more silhouettes and ethnicities. 

In its place, more and more genuinely female focused brands which seek to champion women are dominating the lingerie market. New faces such as Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty (cough this is Rihanna’s impact cough) have emerged, marketing their products to give women the confidence to be themselves. Skin pigment? Stretch marks? Pregnancy? All these NORMAL female features that diverge from the VS “ideal body type”, deemed as undesirable in VS show, are overtly being celebrated in these new brands. With a new focus on comfort and fit, women can now see themselves reflected in the garments that they are buying. Instead of following the ideals of old white men, fashion is becoming increasingly accessible for everyone and no longer a case of one size fits all.  

Perhaps the cancelling of the show is a reflection of the world changing? I do hope so. If VS is to survive, it must evolve to represent women rather than objectify them. Or you know, maybe ditch the old dinosaurs ruling the roost because we all know what happened when dinosaurs were in charge, they became extinct. (Not sure where I’m going with this) (I dino what I’m saying) (Jurassic times call for Jurassic measures) (I’ll stop). Anyway, I hope this is just the beginning of the move towards brands supporting and empowering women. But in the words of Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus (and Lana who randomly comes in for a singular verse), don’t call me angel x

Love, Bobs xxxx