When was the last Victoria's Secret Fashion Show?

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show began in 1995, and in 1998, models like Banks walked the runway in angel wings, according to WWD.

As the show's production value increased, it began airing on national television in the 2000s and expanded internationally, making models such as Adriana Lima, Miranda Kerr, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and others household names.

Heidi Klum walked the runway in 2005 when her then-husband Seal performed, and every year the show seemed to try to outdo itself with bigger wings, more expensive underwear and larger cast members.

Over the years, artists such as Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5 and more have appeared on the runway alongside the models strutting down the runway.

But in 2018, the show posted the worst ratings in its history, falling from more than 10 million viewers in 2010 to just over 3 million in 2018, according to NBC News.

Victoria's Secret announced it was canceling the show in November 2019 to “evolve (the company's) messaging,” Stuart Burgdoerfer, chief financial officer of Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands, said on an earnings call at the time.

“We will communicate with customers, but nothing on the scale of the fashion show,” Burgdörfer said.

What was controversial about the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show?

The announcement of the fashion show's cancellation came as Victoria's Secret faced a series of controversies as a brand.

In 2018, Ed Razek, then chief marketing officer of L Brands, faced backlash for saying in an interview with Vogue that he didn't believe “transsexuals” should be included in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

“Why not? Because the show is a fantasy,” he told Vogue. “It's a 42-minute entertainment special. That's it.”

Razek later apologized and called his comments “insensitive.”

“To be clear: We would definitely cast a transgender model in the show,” he said in a statement posted to the Victoria's Secret Twitter account, according to NBC News. “We've had transgender models come to castings… And like many others, they didn't make it… But it was never about gender.”

Razek announced his retirement in August 2019, the same month the brand hired its first openly transgender model, Valentina Sampaio.

Former L Brands CEO Les Wexner also resigned from his position in 2021 after years of controversy over his alleged past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting his trial on federal sex trafficking charges waited.

According to CNBC, Wexner met Epstein through mutual friends in the mid-1980s.

“Being taken advantage of by someone who…is so depraved is something that embarrasses me to be anywhere near it,” Wexner said in September 2019, CNBC reported.

“We all get betrayed by friends,” he added. “Ultimately, people have secret lives because… they are so good at hiding those secrets.”

According to CNBC, L Brands called Epstein's alleged crimes “abhorrent” in July 2019, adding that the company severed ties with Epstein over a decade ago and does not believe he “was ever employed by the company or an authorized representative of the company.” “acted as a company”. “It also said it had retained outside counsel to conduct a review.

In 2020, The New York Times published an investigation that reported an alleged culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment at the company and included interviews with more than 30 current and former executives, employees, contractors and models.

A spokesman for L Brands, the former parent company of Victoria's Secret, told the Times in a statement that the company is “strongly focused on corporate governance, workplace and compliance practices” and has “made significant progress.”

Victoria's Secret separated from L Brands in 2021 and became a public company. Since then, the brand has revamped its image to reach more women by including more diverse, plus-size and body-conscious models and messaging in its campaigns.

In 2023, the brand also launched a revamped version of a fashion show on Amazon Prime Video called “Victoria's Secret World Tour,” featuring models such as Gigi Hadid and Candice Swanepoel and artists such as Doja Cat and Sabrina Carpenter.

When will the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2024 take place?

The 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show returns to New York City on October 15 and will feature performances from its first all-female cast: Cher, Grammy winner Tyla and K-pop star Lisa.

While the full cast of models has not yet been announced, two of the company's biggest stars will be returning: Banks and Hadid.