I know it will seem counter-productive to complain about the fact that IT gets so much coverage when by complaining, I am errr…giving it coverage but reading Hadley Freeman’s excellent piece this morning about how there really isn’t any difference between a Victoria’s Secret Show and the Miss World Pageant, I thought why was I internalising my ponderings about the whole shebang in my head. That’s what that WordPress publish button is there for, no?
Full disclaimer, I was actually all ready to go and see what all the fuss is and be all open-eyed about it all. This post might not even have happened if my eyes were opened wide enough. I’ve never been to a Victoria’s Secret Show. With it being held in London, I had no excuse but to go and pop my VS cherry, go and chat backstage to the *shudder* “Angels” and then smirk my way through the show.
That didn’t happen of course. As per my previous post, I was chundering my guts out and wondering why I woke up feeling a bit concussed, so I never made it to the show at Earl’s Court. I wasn’t there. I didn’t see it. Maybe there is a shining bright light to be shed on what exactly is the magic of a Victoria’s Secret Show and why it matters so much that it took over the entire fashion sphere for what felt like an age of time in the run-up and in the aftermath of the show.
What I should have done from the onset is not to give the illusion that I was ever going to grinned feign enthusiasm for it all, posting pithy Instas from it just to prove I was there…
Because the thing is… I just don’t get it.
I don’t get that an ok-ish, bordering on cheesy underwear brand has many a grown women – the angels – who have walked shows for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Dior etc, are swooning at their feet, clamouring to model what is essentially a souped-up scantily-clothed Halloween costume truffled up in weeks. It’s a lot of money, yes. But it’s the pretence of it being a prestige that baffles me. One editor that I recently spoke to said that she imagined that doing a VS show is the height of where a model can go, which I’m skeptical about. For other shows and brands, she’s merely a clothes horse but for VS, she gets to show off in OTT glory what she has worked so hard for in her career. She’s doing so with a supposedly “democratic” brand that is accessible to all. So wait… to feel empowered and at the top of your modelling game, you need to work out loads, obtain what is a “Perfect Body” (another rabbit hole that I don’t even want to touch because everyone’s already said their piece about it…) and wear plastic wings? If I had a super confused emoji to post, there would be about ten of those here.
I don’t get the prep and the build-up. Working out for a show? Why do bodies that were already very very thin and had gone through the slog of a season’s worth of 60+ shows or so require an extra fitness regime to… walk another catwalk show? Which then portrays a fallacy for millions of girls/women out there who do the same and then get frustrated when the final outcome isn’t an Angel-bod unless they resort to extreme-extremes.
I don’t get the fact that every fashion publication online – be it a mainstream title or an indie style title – gets carried away with it all things VS even as (and in this instance), Chanel, one of biggest house in the world, is showing embroidered lederhosen in a winter wonderland in Salzburg. On quick glance on social media and on websites, it’s clear who won in the coverage stakes, especially when you count the number of “run-up” and “pre-show” articles that were going live. I don’t blame the journalists and editors who go all hip-hip hurrah for VS in order to drive traffic. That’s the media landscape we live in. Let’s put some perspective on it though. This show won’t matter a jot on what we shoot, what we wear, what shapes fashion – so why all the fuss?
Which leads me to the big “I don’t get” of it all. It’s the product. You’ve lost me when all the frou-frou and hype-hype hide what is essentially very mediocre product. What you see at the show seems to bear zero correlation with what goes into the store. Or at least the day to day product that goes into the store unless you’re at a flagship and a Fantasy Bra blinds you in the spookily blacked out windows. That’s no slight to Sophia Neophitou, the stylist who works no the show. She’s a brilliant stylist and an amazing woman. She’s doing a job that not many would refuse and had they been outfits for Notting Hill Carnival parade, I’d have applauded them for their temporary and celebratory kitsch. Instead, they’re ensembles that shill a false fallacy to girls queueing up on Bond Street, surrendering to the fumes of their sickly scent.
Another point on the product. Four pairs of emergency knickers I’ve bought in various VS stores and they all ride up in all the wrong places. Why? If Uniqlo/Topshop/Muji (yes, you now know my go-to underwear sources) can do it, why can’t the brand that purportedly specialises in lingerie do the same.
Once again I bear no ill will to all involved. Models, designers, creatives and stylists – you are all brilliant people, who have every right to give up your time, your effort and your creativity to this behemoth of a brand. I don’t judge you at all for doing so. I’d never be put in the same situation but who’s to say I wouldn’t go all gung-ho for VS for the right amount of money.
But for now as someone peering in from outside the VS phenomenon… I just don’t get it.
I still remain open to being enlightened. I probably won’t get the chance now. I’m sure my gut will somehow prevent me from doing so even if I am ever allowed within 100 metres of a Victoria’s Secret show venue. Because it just can’t stomach any of it.
THANK YOU! I had started to think I was the only one. If I could write as well as you can I probably would have given it a go as well.. Just to see if maybe someone could just explain it all to me.
Honestly? I actually think this is aimed at men. Why? They’re the only people who seem to get excited about it. I totally agree with Hadley which is unusual for me, and your confusion matches mine entirely.
I’m completely sympathetic to your views and share some of the same bafflement about this show. I think it’s the one of most important shows for models because of the political-economy of fashion, it is all about commerce after all. Being an ‘angel’ does not only bring a lot of money, but it’s the gateway to becoming a household-name brand in the US. It means, potentially, freedom from the pressures – and what I imagine to be the tortures – of having to model in as many runway shows as possible every fashion week just to remain visible. I suspect that this matters to many models who are not working solely because they believe in the brand mystique and aesthetics of all of the labels and corporations for which they work. Models are workers before they’re artists and as such likely seek to be remunerated according to the work that they do. Modeling like most industries is hugely exploitative and many buy into the (largely false) idea that they could be the next Gisele and therefore finally in the driver’s seat of their own fates, an appealing dream in a notoriously fickle field.
Also, American nationalism/consumerism has everything to do with this. As the only publicly broadcast fashion show and ‘holiday event’ it’s much like the Macy’s day parade in that it greases the wheels for holiday shopping and gets everyone primed to spend…on all those Pink velour suits and polyester bras…It’s the kind of ‘vulgar’ commerce that underwrites less lucrative, more artistic fashion ventures, which is why I imagine most people in the industry love it or at least the commercial success it represents.
Much to think about…thanks for writing about it.
Both valid points well argued. Like I said, I have no beef with the models who do this. It’s highly lucrative. If i was offered that amount of money, would i put aside my grievances? Maybe…
And for some models, it maybe that doing this one singular show is far more appealing than walking for esteemed designers or doing campaigns.
That American consumerism thing is of course something that affects the UK too. The show will be broadcasted on E4 here I think. What you guys do, invariably, we’re not too far behind you…
The fascination with it from within the industry is the most baffling of all. You hear snobby attitudes towards some brands and the way the conduct themselves but when VS does the very same thing as those aforementioned brands – only bigger and brasher – it’s lauded and declared to be “genius”. I guess money talks…
Okay, I always liked your blog for being consistently unique and thoughtful and honest, but this is the point I fall in love with it!!
I’m very there with the ‘I don’t get it’, and you’re awesome for writing this piece.
The secret is…Victoria’s beauties!!
XOX, Gap.
http://www.gaptoothedgirl.com
I agree with a lot of what you write, but not with the fact that working out is supposedly all about being thin. The VS models are more fit and toned, whereas runway models in general are skinnier. I also don’t agree with “slutty halloween costumes”, since I think “slutty”is not a good and positive way of describing girls and women according to how they dress (or behave, for that matter).
Well I should expand and say that the regimes are by some accounts, worked into an angel’s contract. I don’t deny that perhaps models might be happy to work out and that there are fitness benefits. But are they ALL happy with this imposed regime? We shall never know I guess…
I will however take your point and retract “slutty” – and say instead scantily clad. The point isn’t that they’re slutty but they are “costume” which I expanded upon later. What you see bears no correlation to what the product is all about which just confuses me.
hehe yea I see your point. I saw they were doing the pre-training, boot camp thing before the show. Already skinny and yet still try to get more training. But I guess the value is there are a lot of people are still out there and waiting to watch this show:P
Shall We Sasa
I’ve always thought I didn’t get the whole VS thing because I’m not from the US / the West, but that it was evident to everyone else…
It seems that is not the case.
Great article! I was also amazed that the Instagram of every magazine/blogger (who was there) all looked exactly the same-where was the fresh angle? Sycophantic adoration of the ‘angels,’ why doesn’t this happen at any other fashion show?
haha, I can’t believe that – when I read your headline – I was kind of hoping you could enlighten me. Because just as you – I don’t get it. I’ve just been watching a kind of ‘best of VS shows’ on Fashion TV while getting my nails done (yes, the irony, I know), and the tackiness almost killed me but I couldn’t take my eyes off that screen. I believe that this must be part of the ‘secret’: they just shamelessly overdo all this – yes, I would call it – crap, it’s fascinating.
You said what I have been unable to find words for (or actually even bother to write about it because VS Shows bore me). When they first unveiled the Fantasy Bra, all I could think about was, “What fantasy is it supposed to fulfil?” It was just a bra and some panties dressed up with crystals and beads and all the works. It seemed like such a hassle to wear or even to fulfil any fantasy in.
Yet, everyone seems to think that VS is the ultimate achievement. I, like you, don’t get it. What’s so fancy about wearing a pair of wings and strutting the runway in a bra&panties or as you put it, slutty Halloween costumes?
I think Hayley (above) said it all. It’s directed at men.
Great post! You found the words I have been searching for about this.
http://www.FashionSnag.com
Thanks for posting this! I wish I had the guts to be as frank as you are about such a popular show as a fashion blogger. Instead I decided that I am taking enough of a high road as someone trying to be a fashion blogger who is “not a shill for industry” by telling myself that it is fine to skip criticizing the show in depth because at least then I am not giving it coverage.
Love this post! It really makes me think! xx
http://www.getup-goblog.blogspot.com
I totally agree. VS is cheap and poorly designed.
I was having this conversation just the other day… I don’t get it either.
And this is why I love you Susie! Thank you. Coming from a country that lives for beauty pageants, for me it’s impossible not to compare it. What’s the fuss all about? Just very hot girls in underwear. They could be wearing Primark knickers for all everyone cares. It’s just another meat show of women.
Finally found someone who agrees on this, brilliantly written as always !
I have never understood the craze for VS, I guess i was attracted to the bright and glittery underwear when I was a few years younger but as a young woman I just find it all very cheap looking.
Charlie xx
Amen. And yes, VS knickers do ride up in all the wrong places and disintegrate at the first wash.
While I sort of like VS underwear (even though unpleasant panty lines usually occur) I simply despise their bras. They are massively uncomfortable, stretch quickly, and I always found myself pulling them up – in the way men fix their crotches. I’m happy to hear someone doesn’t get the hype either, because I was wondering when my instagram feed was going to be free of the coverage.
I have to say that I’m disappointed to read such a critical article, complaining about the same cliche claims the brand has had for years, about an event that was never even attended. The angle I feel most people fail to see about the whole fashion show is how genius of a business and marketing move it is. Victoria’s Secret is amazing at marketing and every moment is choreographed perfectly to coincide with new initiatives, product launches, and to drive sales during their peak traffic season of the year. Where is the curiosity about why the fashion show is in London this year? Why are the Angels shown working out? What is the pay off for Victoria’s Secret to do this every year? Who really is their demographic and why do they love to buy Victoria’s Secret (and I’ll tell you it isn’t men). You may not be a fan of the brand but what about it is so alluring to so many women? Why are they so loyal?
Victoria’s Secret encourages her customer to be sexy, sophisticated, and to feel forever young. How does “being sexy” resonate differently with different women? How could this be different for the UK woman?
Pushing ourselves to think differently and to try to uncover the “why” behind a situation can always be difficult. Maybe next time you’ll actually take action and try to find out what the secret is all about.
I did say in the post that had I gone, this article might not have happened and that maybe, just maybe I might have seen the “light” as it were. By all accounts though and through speaking to some people, I don’t think my opinion would have swayed hugely…
I think we DO see it as clever business and marketing but is that to be commended when at the core of it, the product is weak? That’s my opinion as a consumer, not as an investigative journalist who wants to know the ins’ and outs of the psychology of a VS customer. I have a clear stance and that is that if I don’t get the product, there’s no point in even investigating what makes VS customers tick, why do they want to look “sexy”, or who is their demographic. You can dress it up with marketing all you want but if the product fails, then that’s the first hurdle lapsed. It’s even more of a cliche no to praise marketing strategies that plays one of the most tried-and-tested tricks in the advertising industry… “Sex sells!”. Let’s slap the VS marketing team’s backs for that one…
The answers to many of the questions you ask don’t seem like riveting reading to me. Why is it in London? To drive sales in Europe e-commerce and foot traffic to their London flagship. Why are the Angels shown working out? It’s part of their contract where they are required to Instagram themselves working out. What is the pay off for VS? Loads of money spent by customers on product that in my opinion isn’t worth it. I’ll give you that. It’s “clever” to be able to convince droves of people that a black shiny storefront with a bouncer on the door equates to quality…
I take umbrage at this particular comment though…
“Victoria’s Secret encourages her customer to be sexy, sophisticated, and to feel forever young.” – are these attributes that women need to be in order to feel good about themselves? If that’s the case, then that’s a whole different can of worms that I can’t get into right now…
I’ll grant you that I didn’t go deep into finding out the “Why” in this instance but that is not always my prerogative. The blog is about airing opinions, views and sometimes, when it is warranted, a deeper investigation into the why’s. Frankly, I don’t think VS’s products warrant that. You don’t need to be a journalist to see that. You can just look, touch and wear it. There are plenty more worthy designers and creatives out there that deserve 1,000 words plus of investigative journalism into brand marketing.
If cliches persist throughout the oooh…20 years that this show has going on for, perhaps they’re cliches for a reason.
Well said Susie, the build-up went on far too long and even days later we’re still seeing breathless headlines about the Angels’ beauty/fitness/twerking routines. Zzzzzz. I do get Emily’s point, I would also love to read a piece looking into the digital/marketing strategy of the VS show, as from what I’ve read and heard from those who went, it was orchestrated to the nth degree so we only see what they wanted us to see.
In fact, I did asked the Victoria’s Secret pr back in March if there might be scope to cover the business of the London VS show and was met with silence. They really only wanted me to write about their new t-shirt bra, and when I veered off that subject, well they weren’t in the least bit interested. Which is all part of the strategy of course.
I guess as Susie said, the overexcited editors and bloggers who were invited might have been swayed by advertisers/freebies/cold hard cash (we’ve all been there, well I have) as well as possibly the (misguided?) idea that their readers/social followers really DO CARE A LOT about Victoria’s Secret. But as Imran (Business Of Fashion ) wrote in his weekly round-up, in reality the show was soulless and unspontaneous, so that’s clearly the smoke and mirrors machine of Victoria’s Secret hard at work.
Ugh, apologies for the typos
And, who cares “Why?” Susie. What a waste of your valuable brain cells. Not only is there nothing fashiony about VC’s product, their messaging seems dramatically out of touch with what modern, intelligent women are thinking. I had begun to think it was just me until I saw your post.
I do agree with you! There’s so much attention drawn to their bodies that it is more like a beauty pageant
xo
http://www.thisisfrancescarose.com.
AMEN
I understand your confusion about vs show.If you ask me I tell you that this show brings the most primitive needs for men then women it seems superficial but it works everytime because it triggers primitive desires !!Beautiful girls with underwear mixed with music and glitter Dahh!!work out is good but honestly these models dont need work out anymore but people who watch them will buy work out outfit it s all business 😉
The secret, which in fact is no secret at all, is sex sells.
No matter how many fashion designers or changes in societies views, people are always fascinated about what other people look like without their clothes on. Yes, you could say some designers in the past have had bare chested or naked women but its just not the same.
Underwear is still to this day thought as something you shouldn’t just be wearing down the street, (although some do) and because it comes with this idea, garments you wear for your (or possibly for someone else’s) eyes only, it causes a huge fascination.
I do personally agree that the product is dull and not that different from any other lingerie range but Victoria Secret is an examples of some of todays brands designing boring same old products but doing really well. Fact is Victoria Secret is purely a marketing PR company who happens to make underwear.
The fact there are far more interesting things going on by truly inspiring and creative people frankly upsets and disturbs me that the world is still drawn to a 1950s style advertising campaign.
Mmm, I agree with your point and I also believe that you are making a division between good sensuality (for high end fashion) and mediocre sensuality (VS). I’ve just seen Patrick Demarchelier January editorial with Karlie and, like in most editorials, imagery is quite sexual as well. In a way I understand you are criticizing the ‘train like an angel’ part but are the no-workout but 4-weeks-stressstresstress fashionweek models that much better or worse?
I’m glad to see your telling us what you really think. Considering pretty much every blogger just talks about how amazing the VS Fashion Show is it’s nice to see that you share your real views on it instead of hyping it up for no good reason.
http://www.strickleton.co.uk/
Could it be that the point does not lie in the brand’s aesthetic motivations but in a rather tacky and tepid visual outcome that’s chock-full with vapidness and the worst kind of frou-frou?
When helming Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs delivered some pretty, over-the-top extravaganzas but at least those had some meat and verve in them, from interesting design research (I fondly remember the one brimming with frothy Liberty prints and negative-space gold-plated platforms) to jaw-droppingly beautiful set-ups. This might be just a biased personal opinion but I fail to see the actual value of these lingerie shows.
Some major fashion brands toy knowingly with OTT elements and kitschy displays of adornment but they do so in an enlightening, enjoyable manner. I’m thinking about Gaultier’s haughty divas and his amazing forays into “ethnic” inspiration, Moschino’s wacky sense of irony or even that genius, rainbowy, girly-as-hell event that was the Sony Rykiel X H&M launch party. These were not prim-and-proper affairs and they do have connections, however feeble, to the underlying Victoria’s aesthetic. But the actual catwalk presentation (not to mention the actual, physical garments) feels like a confused attempt at mixing disparate notions of womanhood: the fierce diva, the doe-eyed romantic bimbo, the barely-dressed boudouir bombshell… without ever truly capturing the joys that those cliches may bring when handed by more capable hands.
By the way, I’m a 30 year-old male but I certainly would get my underwear supplies at Topshop were I a woman.
Rock on, Susie!
Love this article! After all the pre show hype on instagram I was quite into it all, and looked the show up the following day. The thing i found weird was that it was really the girls, the staging, the styling etc. that was the star. As a spectacle the show delivered, but it also highlighted that the product itself is very meh. Quite dated, (in my opinion) not really that sexy and a bit cheap. Always appreciate and enjoy reading your honest opinions, and the fact your not afraid to go against the majority.
well, i respect your opinion, but i think their marketing strategy is amazing, and probably you’re not in their target, that’s why the “secret” doesn’t work w/ you.
Susie, I am with you. Thank you.
I just wish many more women saw how sleazy the whole VS shebang is.
All the best to you.
I’ve said this many times before. But Susie, you are a gem!