By
AFP
Published
May 16, 2024
American lingerie giant Victoria's Secret announced on Wednesday that its annual fashion show, canceled after 2018 due to poor sales and declining viewership, will return this fall bringing high-profile models to its runway.
In a video posted on Instagram, the company announced that “the show will return this fall,” without giving details about the date or location, or which models would participate.
“We have read the comments and we have listened to them,” the group said in its post. “The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is BACK and will reflect who we are today, plus everything you know and love: glamour, the runway, wings, musical entertainment and more.”
In November 2019, the Ohio-based company announced the cancellation of the show, which had been criticized for being sexist and out of step with the #MeToo movement that had gained support.
The parade, created in 1995, was followed by millions of people around the world, but the audience declined over the years. In 2014 it attracted nine million American viewers; In 2018 the figure was barely three million.
Iconic models such as Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima participated in the high-glam event, where being one of the show's so-called “angels” guaranteed a certain celebrity status.
Entertainers Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna and Bruno Mars also participated.
The brand was owned by L Brands, but the board approved the spin-off of Victoria's Secret into a separate company, which will list on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.
Now Victoria's Secret & Co, includes its lingerie brand, the Pink brand aimed at young women and a cosmetics and accessories division called Victoria's Secret Beauty.
The company had suffered its association with the case of New York financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 after being accused of sexually assaulting underage girls.
Epstein had been close to L Brands boss Leslie Wexner, who had helped introduce him to the world of jet setting and Victoria's Secret fashion shows.
In 2023, the company posted sales of $6.12 billion, down 2.6 percent year-on-year, and net income of $181 million, compared to $173 million a year earlier.
At the end of the year, the group had more than 1,300 stores worldwide.
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