London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Has Been Canceled As Consumers Demand More Diversity

"We think it's important to evolve the marketing of Victoria's Secret -that is happening in certain respects now, and I think there will be more to come," a company executive said.

After nearly 25 years, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is done as the company struggles to find its voice in an era were body diversity and inclusivity has gained more traction with consumers.

L Brands, which owns the lingerie brand, confirmed in an earnings call Thursday that it was canceling this storied runway event as the company tries to change the way it communicates with customers.

L Brands CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer said Victoria's Secret, which has been losing market share, was steering away from older, more flashy marketing traditions to address declining sales.

"As communicated previously, we think it's important to evolve the marketing of Victoria's Secret -that is happening in certain respects now, and I think there will be more to come," he said. "If that continues to get evaluated, again, we believe the most important thing is the quality of the merchandise itself."

He also promised that Victoria's Secret would be putting on something "similar in magnitude to the fashion show" this holiday season.

The move comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the show, which, in the age of #MeToo, has lost a lot of its appeal. It was not unexpected -in July, model Shanina Shaik told the Daily Telegraph the show was ending.

First held in 1995, the televised runway show quickly became a cultural phenomenon, drawing millions of viewers and cementing the celebrity status of supermodels like Tyra Banks, Gisele Bündchen, and Heidi Klum.

However, the event's draw began to diminish as consumers steered away from idolizing extremely thin women in underwear, instead demanding more diverse, inclusive, and relatable models.

Last December, Business Insider noted that 3.3 million people watched the lingerie runway show on ABC, down from 5 million viewers in 2017 and 6.7 million in 2016.

The drop in viewership came a few months after Ed Razek, a top executive at Victoria's Secret, said in a controversial Vogue interview that he didn't think they should "have transsexuals" or plus-size models in the show because they didn't sell.

"Why not?" he added. "Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special."

His comments sparked backlash, with models like Karlie Kloss leaving the brand and singer Halsey calling out the company for lack of diversity as she performed at the 2018 fashion show.

Razek resigned in August.

On Twitter, users reacted with mixed emotions. Some praised the news, with one person saying that VS "now finds themselves irrelevant" because they never included "anyone above a size zero."

"Byeeeeee, we won't miss 'em," another person tweeted.


Others, however, were "so sad," declaring it an "end of an era."


 


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×