The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret , a brand of lingerie. From to , Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under contract to the company, known as Victoria's Secret Angels , were key participants at the event. The fashion show was cancelled in , the same year its organizer, Edward Razek , resigned under public pressure. The fashion show, at its peak viewership in , had millions tuning in to watch and was known to be a lavish event with elaborate costumed lingerie, music by leading entertainers, and set design with changing themes.
American network television broadcast the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show during prime time. The first few shows in the s were held in the days preceding Valentine's Day , linking the brand to the holiday's romantic theme. In and , the show was webcast. Beginning in , the event was shifted to take place ahead of the Christmas and holiday season. The show made its network television broadcast debut on ABC in , with subsequent years β broadcast on CBS ; the event returned to ABC for the final edition.
Cancellation, officially announced in November amid declining ratings and sales and growing criticism of Razek, was influenced by both the reckoning of the Me Too movement , fourth-wave feminism , and the association of L Brands ' CEO Les Wexner with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Due to the immense amount of criticism, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show reconsidered its marketing strategy, which ultimately contributed to the end of the runway shows.
The brand's focus changed to digital-platform marketing with the aim of restoring its reputation. The show also featured Beverly Peele and Frederique van der Wal. All proceeds went towards the victims of the September 11 attacks. That year, the show made its broadcast debut on ABC , drawing millions of viewers as well as some controversy; the Federal Communications Commission received many complaints about the broadcast.
