Growing up my mother and I always watched the Victoria's Secret fashion. It was a tradition. I would model walk during commercial breaks and swear I was going to be the first short Victoria's Secret Model. To this day, I remain a huge Victoria's Secret Fashion Show fan. I love the hype. I loved watching Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karolina Kurkova, Selita Ebanks, Izabel Goulart, Marisa Miller, and Miranda Kerr. and so many of the "classic" Victoria's Secret models strut down the runway in larger than life wings.
The performances have been spectacular from Usher, Justin Timberlake, and Mary J. Blige, to Phil Collins, Andrea Bocelli and Destiny's Child have graced the show with their dynamic performances and amazing vocals. This year's show, however, was a monstrosity.
The 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was a complete wash. It wasn't interesting, new, exciting or dynamic at all. There were six sections: Boho Psychedelic, Ice Angel, Portrait of an Angel, Exotic Butterflies, Fireworks, and Pink USA. The beginning of the show was not theatrical at all. They pushed the "we're very international" idea and then showed us an entire section dedicated to Americana. It was so uninventive. We've had cowboys, space, and american flags before. In fact, as we watched it, it seemed to bore us rather than excite us. I don't know if it was the lack luster performances or the models but it wasn't as exciting as it used to be.
The most exciting thing about the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is the wings. I remember watching Heidi pull a lever and her wings unfolded into a snowflake. It was a magical moment. Anyone who saw it, probably still remembers it. This year the biggest wings were the butterfly wings they used to decorate. The Fireworks section at least had some light up wings and spinning wings, but we've seen the spinning idea before in the Circus section from the show in 2012. Light up wings aren't necessarily original either. Sure, it can be hard to come up with fresh ideas and themes but Americana and Ice Angel aren't necessarily ground breaking either.
Every year they try to make us feel an emotional connection with the models by showing us their crying scenes when they get to wear the fantasy bra or get to walk for the first time. They show us old family photos from when they were kids. With Heidi, Gisele, and Tyra you didn't have to force the connection. They were larger than life supermodels, not the girl next door. We don't watch spectacles like this to feel like they're our neighbors, we watch it for the glamor. Instead it seemed more like a flop than a success. Everything from the behind-the-scenes footage to the Holiday commercial seemed scattered and unfocused. Maybe Michael Bay is out of ideas as well. We saw lingerie and snow. That's all I remember from the commercial.
I miss the Victoria's Secret Fashion show that was filled with magic. I miss the crazy sets and amazing innovative costumes. Themes that made you want to dream. It's all become so uniform that I as a viewer have become disengaged. I don't want the old Victoria's Secret Fashion Show back, I want an continued evolution of fashion and theater. Hopefully next year the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show will be back with a bang and some fresh ideas.
