The Victoria's Secret Show Is Cancelled, Literally Not Figuratively

From ELLE

After 2018's Victoria's Secret show in New York (and Paris and Shanghai before that), the infamous lingerie catwalk extravaganza will not be happening in 2019.

The VS Show held its first televised show in 2001, and the event gained such notoriety models - known as 'Angels' - trained for months prior, musical acts such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga performed, and the momentous occasion was broadcast to hundreds of countries around the world.

Historically, the Victoria's Secret catwalk show has held the title of most-watched fashion event of the year (800 million people tuned in annually) with around about £9.2 million spent on putting the spectacle together. But, with viewership dropping and criticism mounting, Victoria's Secret is changing.

Victoria's Secret CFO Confirms 2019's Victoria's Secret Show Is Cancelled

One year and one month after 2018's Victoria's Secret Show, Stuart B. Burgdoerfer, chief financial officer and executive vice president of L Brands, confirmed 2019's show is officially cancelled according to WWD.

Burgdoefer explained:

Many have taken to Twitter to celebrate the cancelled show, some joking about Rihanna's successful Savage lingerie show.

Victoria's Secret Controversial Ed Razek Resigns

Chief marketing officer Ed Razek has reportedly retired following mounting criticism of his role.

Over the last 15 years Razek has been critical in the casting process for the show - helping to cement models such as Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks and even the Hadid sisters as household names.

However, the 71 year-old made negative headlines last year when he made comments regarding the show's lack of 'plus-size' and trans model casting.

'So it’s like, why don’t you do 50?' Mr. Razek said (referring to the size of the models) in an interview with Vogue. 'Why don’t you do 60? Why don’t you do 24? It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals [referring to transgender models] in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special.'

These comments received considerable backlash from celebrities (such as Halsey) and fans alike, and Razek went on to apologise for what he said.

Victoria's Secret Hires First Transgender Model: Valentina Sampaio

Valentina Sampaio is Victoria Secret's first (openly) transgender model.

The 22 year-old Brazilian, who is also an actress, took to Instagram to share a photo and video of herself on the set of a Victoria's Secret shoot, writing 'never top dreaming' under one of the posts.

Her agent, Erio Zanon ,confirmed to ET that she will star in the new Victoria's Secret Pink campaign set to be released in 2019, and explained: 'Of course she is very happy for it and she hopes that it shall continue to break barriers and to make a step to more inclusivity and representation for everybody.'

Fans and celebrities have gone on to praise the casting choice, with actor Laverne Cox commenting: 'Wow, finally!'

Rumours Of The 2019 Victoria's Secret Show Not Happening

Model and VS Show veteran Shanina Shaik told the press that the show was not happening this year for an unspecified reason:

'Unfortunately the Victoria's Secret show won't be happening this year,' Shaik told The Daily Telegraph. 'It's something I'm not used to because every year around this time I'm training like an angel.'

'But I'm sure in the future something will happen, which I'm pretty sure about,' she continued. 'I'm sure they're trying to work on branding and new ways to do the show because it's the best show in the world.'

The New York Times reported in May 2019 that the annual spectacle would not be aired on network television.

The publication reported that a memo from Leslie Wexner, the chief executive of Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, L Brands, explained that:

Model Alliance Write Open Letter To CEO Of Victoria's Secret

On August 6th 2019 The Model Alliance published an open letter to Victoria Secret's CEO John Mehas to urge him to take active steps to help thwart abuse and exploitation in the modelling industry.

Co-signed by both Time's Up and over a hundred models including Iskra Lawrence, Erin O'Connor, Edie Campbell and Milla Jovovich, the letter partially read:

A Victoria's Secret spokesperson told ELLE US: 'we are always concerned about the welfare of our models and want to continue to have dialogue with the Model Alliance and others to accomplish meaningful progress in the industry.'

What Have There Been Criticisms Of The Victoria's Secret Show?

Feminist discussion has always swirled around the show - are perfectly toned, semi-naked women a step forward? Are they not? Despite this, it has remained a hugely successful event for almost two decades.

The New York Times, however, reports that: 'Viewership for the show ... dropped by roughly two-thirds within five years. Last year, it drew an audience of 3.3 million viewers, down from 9.7 million viewers in 2013.'

Model Karlie Kloss left the franchise in 2017 stating she could not participate due to 'scheduling conflicts'. In a recent interview, however, she revealed the lack of model diversity was the true reason she parted ways with the brand.

'The reason I decided to stop working with Victoria's Secret was I didn't feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful,' Kloss told British Vogue.

How the brand will evolve? Only time we tell. We hope the VS spectacular can take on the constructive criticism thrown its way to make an even better show.

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