It's been five years since the world last had a glimpse of the Victoria's Secret (VSCO) -) fashion show, and a lot has changed since then.
The show was cancelled in 2019 on the back of the #MeToo movement, which empowered women to come forward with their stories about sexual harassment on gig sites or at work.
"Fashion is a business of change. 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," then-CEO Les Wexner wrote in a May 2019 memo to employees.
This was in the wake of declining viewership -- the show had a total viewership of 9.2 million in 2014 to just 3.2 million in 2018. Less than a year later, Wexner stepped down from his post as CEO of L Brands (then-parent company of Victoria's Secret) following allegations of workplace sexual misconduct and ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Then, covid hit and the mall retailer was rocked by a halt in supply chains, mall closures, and a change in lingerie and loungewear trends that pivoted to body-inclusivity. It seemed that Angels were no longer in fashion.
Victoria's Secret Overhauls Brand for a Comeback
But Victoria's Secret has been trying to right the ship ever since. Sales have been slowly returning, and in March, the company announced its fashion show would, too.
"We're going to continue to lean into the marketing spend to invest in the business, both at top-of-funnel and also to support the new version of our fashion show, which is to come later this year," CFO Tim Johnson said during Victoria's Secret's Q4 earnings call in March.
Now, we have a better idea of what that "new version" looks like.
Here's what we know about what's being called The Victoria’s Secret World Tour:
- The show will air on Amazon AMZN Prime video on Sept. 26.
- It won't just be a fashion show; it'll be part runway, part documentary.
- It will follow the lives and careers of the VS20, or a group of 20 affiliated creatives and influencers from Bogota, Lagos, London and Tokyo.
- A collection inspired by The Victoria’s Secret World Tour will release simultaneously and be shoppable on Amazon via the Victoria's Secret storefront.
Amazon and Victoria's Secret have been partners for over a year now. The lingerie company began selling its beauty products on Amazon in 2022 but has since expanded to a vertically integrated chain of many of its best sellers and most beloved items. Victoria's Secret has remained pretty tight-lipped about the success of its strange new partner, but it reports earnings on Aug. 23 and it's safe to assume we might get at least a mention of the partnership or upcoming fashion show then.
