The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is spreading its wings for the first time since 2018.
The retailer announced the return of its annual runway show in an Instagram video in May, saying, “We’ve read the comments and heard you” in response to its six-year hiatus.
L Brands, the former parent company of Victoria’s Secret, canceled the show in 2019, citing its decision to end the fashion show at the time to “evolve the marketing of Victoria’s Secret” amid declining ratings and criticism about body positivity.
The show, which returns after a half-decade in its full form after the brand premiered a scaled down version on Prime Video last year, is slated to be broadcast Tuesday night from New York City.
The runway show, which was launched in 1995, has featured performances from A-list musical artists, including Rihanna, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Taylor Swift, and highlighted models like Heidi Klum and Kendall Jenner. This week, the brand announced that VS icon Adriana Lima would return to the show, and in late August, it was announced that Gigi Hadid and Tyra Banks would also strut on the VS stage.
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Tuesday’s show marks Banks’ first VS fashion show in 20 years. Here’s how to watch the iconic fashion show’s return.
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to returnfor the first time since 2018: What to know
What time is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airing?
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video and the brand’s official YouTube page. The runway show made a semi-return last year with Victoria’s Secret’s “The Tour ’23,” a “reimagined” event that streamed on Prime Video.
The official pink carpet pre-show is set to take place at 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
What models and performers will appear in the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will feature legendary supermodels, including Lima, Banks, Barbara Palvin, Jasmine Tookes, Ashley Graham, Candice Swanepoel and Behati Prinsloo.
The show will feature performances from a slate of performers who are women: Blackpink singer Lisa, Tyla and music legend Cher.
Tuesday’s runway show marks a return to the VS stage for Lima, one of the brand’s most iconic models of all time. In November 2018, the supermodel retired from the event that made her a household name in the fashion industry.
Cher to headlineVictoria’s Secret Fashion Show’s all-women set
Lima, then-37, strutted solo, visibly tearing up when she reached the end of the runway while the crowd rose to their feet to cheer for the supermodel as she walked in her 19th and final VS show. The model, now 43, also opened up about her exit from the star-studded annual event in an Instagram post at the time.
“Dear Victoria, Thank you for showing me the world, sharing your secrets, and most importantly not just giving me wings but teaching me to fly,” she wrote in the caption.
Noticeably absent from this year’s model lineup is Jenner.
What’s new about the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show?
In an updated brand values statement published in August, the company says now that it stands for “celebrating all women.”
“We’ve centered ourselves around what our customer wants and needs – making sure that they are proud to shop at Victoria’s Secret,” the statement read. “We have moved from promoting an exclusionary view of what’s sexy, to celebrating all women throughout every phase of their lives.”
The statement continued: “We will continue this work and look to be an industry leader in retail innovation, fashion, sustainability, and continuous ingenuity—getting to the heart of what our diverse customer base wants.”
5 moments from the 2018 event:Adriana Lima’s emotional final Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was canceled amid controversy
In 2019, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was canceled amid a flurry of controversies.
In May of that year, the brand said it would be rethinking the show. In a statement sent to the company’s associates at the time and obtained by USA TODAY, the ex-CEO Les Wexner of L Brands revealed that the show would be moving in a different direction.
“Fashion is a business of change,” Wexner said in a statement in 2019. “We must evolve and change to grow. With that in mind, we have decided to re-think the traditional Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Going forward, we don’t believe network television is the right fit.”
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2018:Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo stun in post-baby return
“Given the decline in performance at Victoria’s Secret, we have substantially pulled back on capital investment in that business while we focus on ensuring that our merchandise resonates with customers,” L Brands said in its Q3 earnings report.
The 2018 show’s audience of 3.27 million viewers was the smallest since becoming a holiday season TV event in 2001, with Nielsen saying the show had lost more than half its television audience in a two-year span.
But that wasn’t all. In a November 2018 interview with Vogue, ex-L Brands chief marketing officer Ed Razek said he didn’t think the show should include “transsexuals” because “the show is a fantasy.”
“If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have,” he added. “We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes (in 2000). No one had any interest in it, still don’t.” He later apologized for his comments, telling readers they “came across as offensive.”
Contributing: Anika Reed, Brendan Morrow, Sara M Moniuszko