Rum-pum-pum-pum-Rump-pum-pump-pump MAN DOWN. The Victoria’s Secret fashion show is officially no more…and we’re pretty sure Rihanna killed it.
According to Fortune magazine, VS chief financial officer Stuart Burgdoerfer said on an earnings call that the 2019 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will not be taking place this year at all. The last Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show that aired on network TV took place in December 2018, where Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Leomie Anderson, and more made appearances on the catwalk.
Last May, the retailer told employees that its annual fashion show will no longer be televised. “Fashion is a business of change,” Wexner wrote in a memo to employees in May. “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.” Wexner’s note made it sound like there was still hope for the show, beyond network television. But now, Burgdoerfer has asserted the company’s decision to end the show completely, in an effort to “evolve the messaging of [the company]”. Apparently, the company has decided to scale back on its more “extravagant marketing methods.”
In recent years, ratings for the VSFS have waned, and the event was dogged by controversy over its lack of inclusivity on the runway. In November of last year, Ed Razek, L Brands chief marketing officer, said he didn’t think transgender models should appear in the show.
“I don’t think we should,” he said, adding, “The show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors that are carping at us.”
Amid Victoria’s Secret’s struggles, Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty label has garnered major buzz (and sales) for its size- and color-inclusive lingerie offerings. Rihanna held a blowout fashion show in New York this September, which was made available on Amazon Prime. The show starred supermodels like Gigi and Bella Hadid and Cara Delevingne, with performances by Big Sean, Halsey, Migos and more.
Will you miss seeing the Vicky secret show?
