After catching heat for objectifying women with its pencil-skinny models parading around with angel wings in their unmentionables, Victoria’s Secret is reinventing its lingerie fashion shows.
The semi-nudie extravaganzas disappeared five years ago after critics said (correctly) that the bouillabaisse of bras and panties glorified unrealistic body types.
Now Victoria’s Secret is making another go of things. But this time the angel wings are adios, the event will be packaged as a feature film and it will be available on streaming services.
“This film is the ultimate expression of the Victoria’s Secret brand transformation,” Raúl Martinez, the company’s head creative director, said in a statement.
“It will be driven by fashion, glamor and entertainment, with a nod to beloved iconography from the past but in a bold, redefined way,” he said.
Those are pretty high-falutin’ words for what’s essentially soft-core porn (at least in the eyes of many males who watched past Victoria’s Secret fashion shows without any intention of purchasing silky underthings).
It’s laudable that the company is looking to modernize these out-of-date affairs, and to showcase greater diversity in body types.
But is there really an audience for a film-length commercial featuring scantily clad women?
Moreover, is this really something people will want to stream on Netflix (or wherever it’s available)?
No, I take that back.
With Hollywood writers on strike, maybe this is precisely the content streaming services are looking for to fill holes in their schedules.
Chris Rupp, Victoria’s Secret’s chief customer officer, said the newfangled fashion show marks a return of “the very best of entertainment and fashion our customers have been asking for.”
Which is to say, they’re clamoring for nearly nude women prancing about to sick beats.
Not for nothing, but the internet already has no shortage of such things. Or so I’ve heard.