A growing swell of backlash around a lack of body diversity forced Victoria’s Secret to cancel its annual fashion show in 2019. When they brought it back in 2024, it was with a wider variety of bodies, but consumers complained that it lacked the glamour and oomph of the original.

This year, the brand tried to meet in the middle.

On Wednesday night at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Victoria’s Secret staged the second iteration of its retooled fashion show, the first true effort under chief executive Hillary Super, who had only been in her role for a month at the time of last year’s event. And while this cast was notably more diverse than in the show’s past life (both in terms of body type and background), it also presented a take on sexiness that felt more filtered through a female gaze. That was all topped off with also a heavy dose of glamour — its most visible distinguishing factor from its top competitor, Skims.

“The goal now is to … honour the heritage of the brand, the things that make the brand special — the sexy, the glamour, the luxurious — but evolve that for a new generation,” said CMO Elizabeth Preis.

Consumers’ verdict? It’s still not quite what it used to be — but it’s getting closer.

Like last year, there were more casual looks, as well as more clothing generally, from mini-dresses to silk cargo pants, but everything was dialed up a notch. Pajama pants were worn underneath a dress made out of ropes of rhinestones. Models walked down the runway in baggy jeans and sweatshirts, but they were cropped and dusted with glitter. While not all models wore wings (instead, some had feathered headpieces), there was a greater number of large wings and over-the-top accessories, from Gigi Hadid’s sweeping opera coat covered in pink peonies to her sister Bella’s life-size wings and silver fringed getup. There wasn’t a single slicked-back bun in sight.

And while there were plenty of women strutting down the runway in a bra and barely-there panties, there were also ensembles that felt more catered to a woman’s interpretation of sexiness. To start, veteran angel Jasmine Tookes, opened the show highlighting her nine-month pregnant belly. Liu Wen walked in a sheer, sequined crop top and coordinating pants, one of several sparkling looks that looked equally suited for attending a Sabrina Carpenter concert. “Euphoria” actress Barbie Ferreira’s red bikini and whistle, yes, felt very “Baywatch,” but topped off with a denim jacket with the sleeves pushed up, felt like a glammed-up beach outfit.

The looks, of course, only go so far.

“You can do the big hair, the makeup and make it bold, but the way to make it modern is with the women in the show and what they represent,” said retail consultant Gabriella Santaniello.

In that sense, the brand nailed the assignment. The runway featured the standard array of top models, including veterans like Adriana Lima, Gigi Hadid and Alessandra Ambrosio, as well as of-the-moment names like Anok Yai and Alex Consani (who, last year, became the show’s first transgender model). There were also standout plus-size models like Paloma Elsesser, Precious Lee and Ashley Graham, plus a few who weren’t models at all — beyond Ferreira, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee and WNBA star Angel Reese also walked.

According to Preis, the hope is that all of it will be enough to bring back the shoppers who have defected elsewhere and lure in younger ones just discovering the brand.

“If you want to connect with more people … oftentimes it’s through more people, more personalities,” said Preis.

A New-Yet-Familiar Version of Sexy

Celebrity casting, of course, is not a revolutionary tactic in fashion marketing. Still, it makes sense that Victoria’s Secret deployed the strategy this go round.

Perhaps even more than in 2024, there was immense pressure to get this year’s show right. The company’s market cap has more than halved since the end of 2021 — today it sits around $2 billion — and in 2025, has faced accusations of mismanagement from activist investors.

This time, feedback from last year provided an advantage: Consumers were clear that they wanted more of what made the show such a phenomenon in the first place.

Even before Wednesday night, it was clear they were listening — a pre-show Instagram announcement that the bouncy blowouts would return received near-universal praise in the comments. At the same time, there was a new team in place, overseeing Super’s vision for the show, and really, the brand at large. Preis, for instance, joined just four months ago, while executive creative director Adam Selman, who led the show’s production, is also a 2025 hire.

They brought forth a balance of striking a nostalgic chord while also staging an event that felt fit for 2025. That was evident in casting a mix of veterans and fresh faces, but also in the performances. The show opened with Gen-Z pop star Madison Beer and ended with Millennial favourite Missy Elliott. They also appealed to the brand’s global customer base — Colombian musician Karol G sang entirely in Spanish, while the K-pop group Twice soundtracked the Pink portion of the show.

Start to finish, the show was rooted in selling Victoria’s Secret’s idea of sexy, from the “Bombshell” t-shirts worn by the bartenders outside to the ultra-sparkly looks on the runway.

But throughout, it was also clear they were pushing what would actually sell. Bras, which Super has said is a particular focus for the company, were a visible part of nearly every look. There was an entire segment devoted to Pink, the company’s teen sub-brand, an aughts hit and a recent sales high point. Through a partnership with Amazon Prime, viewers at home still could shop the looks online.

While the show surely did its job of getting people talking, time will tell if it gets them to shop.

“It’s hard to turn a retailer around in a year, especially in a very competitive category that’s been declining for years,” said Santaniello. “The stakes are high to get it right, but they’re never going to please everybody.”