It has been a week since the infamous Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show took place in Paris. What this spectacle is most known for – apart from the clothes -- are the beautiful, slim models, the glorious wings that grace their shoulders, the paparazzi, and of course the countless A-List celebrities who make their appearances at the show and the after-parties. Now for the record, I consider myself a girly-girl who would normally be interested in the glam, glitz, and ritz of a scene like Victoria’s Secret. And my friends might assume I would love this exclusive, runway event, and all its hype and hoopla. Yet, in fact, my opinion is just the opposite. I refuse to watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show because, at its core, it furthers an unrealistic ideal of women’s body images, and ultimately where a woman’s worth should come from.
Out of all of the things a fashion show should be known for, clothes ought to be somewhere near the top of the list. At Victoria’s Secret, the last thing anyone remembers is the actual clothing lines – you know, the lingerie, bathing suits, matching bra and underwear sets -- each made from no more than one square yard of fabric or lace. The more memorable lines from this show are likely to be “YAS! Lily Aldridge’s body is GOALS!” or “Did you see Gigi Hadid’s wardrobe malfunction? Yikes!” Never do we hear statements about the unique new designs, the flattering looks the clothes offer to buyers, the wearability, quality, durability or any value in the clothing itself. While Victoria’s Secret is ostensibly showcasing fashion, their real goal seems to be showing off the bodies of the young models who walk the runway.
And can we just take a minute and talk about the fact that the ladies wear wings when they are walking the runway? Excuse me - what? To the average young woman in America, is this Victoria’s Secret’s way of sending the message that the models are actual, God-sent angels? Talk about unrealistic expectations to live up to.
Nothing good comes from women or men comparing normal women’s bodies to the impossibly unrealistic ideal set by models. Each one of us has a different body type, yet we are led to believe that we are supposed to be stick-thin, have six-pack abs and be able to rock six-inch heels. We were all built differently, and there’s nothing wrong with that! Youth and beauty are not “skills.” Most of us don’t get paid to spend every day starving ourselves, working out or undergoing cosmetic treatments. A woman’s self-worth should come from her strengths, her relationships and her confidence in all she can accomplish in life through love and hard work.
Most fashion shows showcase a designer's distinctive couture in an attempt to sell more of their clothing, while minimizing focus on the individual women wearing their styles. However, the sales strategy of the Victoria’s Secret’s Fashion Show appears to be the opposite: market an aspirational beauty and perfection of women’s bodies (to men?) while relegating of the designs of the actual clothing to secondary importance, and buyers will come running. I’m not knocking this strategy, because maybe it works for them. And while I’m not saying that no one should ever watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, or that you’re a bad person if you do, I just don’t want to put myself in the position of comparing myself and my body against unrealistic goals and body types. For women in the 21st century, there are already so many pressures put on us to look, to act, and to dress a certain way, while juggling school, career, family, and friends. I am perfectly content to let others watch “angels” flaunt their bodies on stage while I go about the business of juggling my responsibilities, building my skills and relationships and learning to be self-sufficient while earning my degree at college. When my time comes, I’ll be ready to spread my own wings and fly.
