Breathe
By Pamela Sandoval
Last Tuesday, after a six-year hiatus, the famous Victoria's Secret Fashion Show returned, this time broadcast on Amazon Prime. The event, once considered an icon of glamour and sex appeal, now faces a series of criticisms for its attempts to reconfigure itself as a "female empowerment" platform. However, rather than a genuine move towards equality, the fashion show seems to be leveraging this discourse as a mere marketing ploy.
From the beginning, Tyra Banks, one of the event's presenters, tried to emphasize that the show was "all about women," a statement that rings hollow in the face of the show's obvious commercial intent: to sell as much lingerie as possible ahead of the holiday shopping season. It's impossible to overlook that, while there is talk of empowerment, most of what we saw on screen were thin women walking down a runway in polyester lingerie.
Throughout history, brands have tried to adapt to social trends to stay relevant. Victoria's Secret is no exception. After years of criticism for its unattainable beauty standards and lack of diversity in its models, the company has attempted to change its narrative. However, to what extent are these efforts genuine? Are we really looking at a shift in the way the brand perceives and represents women or are we simply witnessing a facelift to sell more products?
The 2024 runway show made it clear that female empowerment is largely an excuse to promote the brand. The show featured models like Gigi Hadid and veteran Adriana Lima, but the real diversity and inclusivity, which many expected to see, was minimal. While we did see models like Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser, known for their activism in including more diverse bodies, their presence seemed more of a tactic to appease critics than a genuine change in the brand's culture.
Feminism, a current that seeks gender equality in all areas, has been turned into a marketing tool by many brands, including those that have historically perpetuated harmful stereotypes about women. Victoria's Secret, whose traditional image is based on the objectification of models, now seeks media redemption. This phenomenon, known as "corporate feminism" or "market feminism," turns feminist struggles into empty slogans to attract consumers, without changing the patriarchal structures that underlie the industry.
Brands, instead of really empowering women, use this discourse to create viral moments on social media. This year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a clear example of this, as it invaded social networks with images of slim and perfectly groomed models, but without a real message of inclusion or diversity.
Another aspect to highlight is the presentation of "new" and "veteran" models. While the casting was diverse in terms of age and background, we can't speak of true representation. Despite the brand's insistence that they are "committed to women's confidence," it seems that what they are really looking for is to capitalize on this discourse without implementing significant changes in their power structure.
It is troubling that, in an era where the conversation about gender equality and feminism is more alive than ever, brands like Victoria's Secret still use these issues for commercial purposes. Although the fashion show attempted to present itself as more than just an event to sell lingerie, the result was disappointing. Far from being a platform to promote diversity and inclusion, the fashion show still relies on the same stereotypes that have characterized the brand for decades.
Victoria's Secret has been trying to reinvent itself in recent years, after losing relevance to brands that promote a more inclusive vision of fashion. However, as Chantal Fernandez highlights in her article for *The Cut*, this attempted comeback seems superficial. Although the show featured musical performances by artists such as Cher and Lisa, the underlying message of the show remains the same: beautiful, thin, young women selling products that perpetuate a very limited ideal of beauty.
The return of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, under a new guise of female empowerment, raises important questions about the relationship between feminism and capitalism. As long as brands continue to use feminist discourse solely as a marketing tool, women will continue to be seen as objects of consumption and not as full subjects of rights and possibilities. Instead of empowering women, what we saw was yet another strategy to increase sales during the holiday season, without a real commitment to gender equality.
This parade is a reminder that feminism is not a slogan or a fashion, but a constant struggle for equality, and that we must be critical of companies that try to appropriate this discourse for their own commercial ends.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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