• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

Victoria’s Secret, eager to speed up its transformation, took a giant step into the past this weekend: The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was a star-studded throwback to the “good” old days, when hypersexualized models meant everything, and wings were everywhere. Even the event’s big reveal -- Kylie Jenner in a $50 million diamond fantasy bra -- was a nod to a less complicated time. This is the first time the Fantasy Bra has made an appearance since 2018.

There was so much glitter and glam that viewers could be forgiven if they couldn’t quite remember what came before. In 2019, Victoria’s Secret got swept up in the #MeToo and Time’s Up movement, cancelling the show after accusations of bullying and misogyny surfaced. In 2020, there was the resignation of CEO Leslie Wexner amid scrutiny of his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein. And in 2021, the company pivoted to “female empowerment” with a campaign fronted by leading female athletes -- and sales stalled.

“It’s almost as if the past seven years didn’t happen,” wrote Vanessa Friedman, fashion critic for the New York Times. The brand’s leaders “were revealing just how much we have reverted to pre-#MeToo definitions of sexy and how little change has actually occurred, despite all of the soul-searching and existential crises of the early 2020s about how a brand that put women on display like dream dolls of the bedroom may have contributed to a culture of sexual harassment and abuse.”

The Wall Street bros, of course, loved it. Barron’snoted that the company’s stock price rose about 4% after the event, its biggest one-day rise in two years, getting plenty of praise from  analysts. “What stood out most to us was how closely the show resembled the Victoria’s Secret of the past,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note Monday. “In our view, the event was another tangible proof point that Victoria’s Secret is returning to the core heritage.”

Barron’s also quotes Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Straton, who praised the retailer’s marketing campaign, which began seven months in advance rather than the three months the brand scheduled last year. “That move nearly tripled the number of Instagram posts about the show from a year ago,” Barron’s reported, and the show featured 17 times as many items directly available for purchase.

Sexy has been making a comeback since 2024, when CEO Hillary Super joined the company and promised to rejuvenate sales. Those efforts include bringing back the angels and the runway show. Earlier this year, Super even remade the company’s stock ticker symbol, changing it from VSCO to VSXY.

The strategy appears to be working, at least on some levels. In a recent earnings call, Super told investors the brand was gaining favor with younger shoppers.

The star power of the models may have even eclipsed the star power of the audience. Sure, Kris Jenner, Timothée Chalamet, and Nicole Kidman were in attendance. But the models included Barbara Palvin, just six weeks postpartum, reports E!Online. Bella Hadid also walked the runway, and veteran Angel Adriana Lima closed the show. And underwear-clad musical guests included Tate McRae, KATSEYE, Megan Moroney, and Megan Thee Stallion.

Old names were center stage. Those included Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the British model who made a splash in her debut 20 years ago, when she dressed like a child in polka dot undies, carrying a stuffed animal and trailing a comforter. She told British Vogue that she felt “delighted” to be returning as she nears 40. And Gisele Bündchen made a surprise cameo, via a video clip, wearing a pink lace bra and asking: “Are you ready for the show?”

There was even a brand-new angel: Solange Omon, a 21-year-old model from Maine, who recently won the brand’s YouTube reality show, “Angels Among Us,” reports People.

Adweekpraised the event for building the brand’s “most participatory show yet,” with ticket drops and a TikTok Live anchor.

The brand says this is what women want, and the company’s new leaders often talk about giving women ownership of their bodies and self-confidence. Maybe so, the Times said.  “But there’s no getting away from the reality that the VS show is perpetrating a very specific Vargas girl-Playboy tradition of sexy.”