What the Victoria Secret Fashion Show should be. Diverse.
I, like most women my age, were raised with the Victoria’s Secret catalog coming in the mail. I remember being so excited, circling the items I loved and running to my mom asking to order a cute set. She obliged and would take me to the mall, usually Main Place or the Block at Orange to let me pick a few things. Lingerie has always been special to me. A cute pair of undies or matching set made me feel special. Sleeping in a cute slip was my way of dipping my toe into being my true, most glamorous self. My mother understood that for me, it was about feeling amazing and the inner joy these little bits of lace and satin brought me.
For years Victoria’s Secret has been under scrutiny for the lack of body diversity in its marketing and fashion show. The brand has stood firm on it’s cis-gendered, tall and very thin standard regarding their models. As a business owner, I understand brand standards but it is also important to evolve with the times. As a company that’s target customer is middle-class females age 15-40 it's more important than ever. The average American woman over age 20 is just shy of 5’4” and weighs 170lbs with a 38” waist. This places the average woman in the range of a clothing size 14-18. So how does Victoria’s Secret expect to successfully appeal to its customers by only representing women who are an average of 6’ with a 24” waist?
The annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is always on my birthday weekend, and when I heard it was cancelled this year I felt it was the perfect opportunity. I decided in its absence, it was high time someone showed what the brand could, nay should do. Represent their target audience. So I partnered up with the wonderful makeup artist Katy of Katy Marie Artistry to create a Victora’s Secret inspired shoot with my collection of luxe wings (available to our clients as part of our Luxe Collection). With four amazing models, Alana, Lashonne, Jordan & Kimberly, we were ready to make some magic!