Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Aiyana Ishmael, Associate Editor
“I grew up watching the Victoria’s Secret runway show. I was 5-foot-10 in the fourth grade and often got comments that I should “be a model,” so I was obsessed with all things runway from a very young age. Whether it was a fashion magazine, ANTM, or the VS Show, I was tuned in. But I often found myself confused when I’d receive those model comments because as I stared passionately at the angels on my screen, none of them even slightly resembled me. How could I “be a model” when none of the models I saw looked like me? I soon gave up on the idea and allowed myself to believe that not everyone was meant to be a Victoria’s Secret Angel, myself included. As a lover of fashion and a co-signer of the IYKYK ideal, I cannot say that I believe everyone needs to be involved in everything. But, when it comes to a major retail brand sold across the country like VS, they should be for everyone. You cannot exist broadly in an almost overconsumption sales frame and try to be exclusive. It’s hypocritical and a brand identity issue. VS, sold at every local mall near you, should be highlighting its customers, not trying to sell an unattainable image like it once did in the 2000s. And that focus on inclusivity doesn’t mean you have to get rid of the sex appeal and feathery fun it originated with. All bodies deserve to wear gorgeous, larger-than-life wings. So while for the last few years I’ve been very disinterested in the VS brand, if next week they brought back the original show, bold glamour makeup looks, oversized wings, and an assortment of bodies strutting down the runway as Cher and Tyla serenade the room, I’d turn on the television and let them cook for a minute — but they still only get sixty seconds from me.”
Amalie McGowan, Manager, Creative Development
“If Victoria’s Secret had wanted to stay relevant they would have needed to make their show like Chromat’s years ago. Radically inclusive. Throw in some It people (Richie Shazam, Charli, etc.) and you’ve got a brand that’s remaking itself. It could have had the Abercrombie comeback…but to be honest I think it’s too late.”
Emily Zirimis, Art Director
“I have visceral memories of walking through Victoria’s Secret at the local mall with my mom in the early to mid-2000s, specifically the PINK section. If I’m not mistaken, the biggest size they carried at the time was a large–so if/when I was able to find something that fit, it was typically something that ran “oversized”. Even with my disappointment around the limited size range, I still wanted so much to fit in and to be a part of the sexy, whimsical, bubblegum world that was the VS phenomenon. While I have graduated to other brands all these years later, my sentiments remain the same–I am still the 14-year-old so eagerly wanting to be a part of something –– to feel accepted, and to feel like I can participate too. We’re not asking for perfection, we’re just asking for the ability to participate, which feels pretty bare minimum to me. That is what I hope to see/feel at the upcoming VS show.”
