Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Returning as 'New Version' After 4-Year Hiatus
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Victoria's Secret A scene from the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is making a return.
The brand is looking to revamp the former yearly staple after a four-year hiatus, per chief financial officer Timothy Johnson, who revealed the news during the company's 2022 earnings call on Friday. Retail Dive was the first outlet to cover the update.
"We're going to continue to lean into the marketing spend to invest in the business, both at top-of-funnel and also to support the new version of our fashion show, which is to come later this year," Johnson said.
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Hubert Boesl/picture alliance via Getty A scene from the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
A spokesperson for Victoria's Secret & Co. told PEOPLE on Saturday that the company is committed to championing women and is "always innovating and ideating in all spheres of the business to continue to put our customer at the center of all we do."
"As we've previously shared, our new brand projection and mission will continue to be our guiding principle," the statement read. "This will lead us into new spaces like reclaiming one of our best marketing and entertainment properties to date and turning it on its head to reflect who we are today. We're excited to share more later this year."
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show's cancellation came in November 2019 around the time of the Victoria's Secret Angel title being dropped, due to criticism that the brand didn't embrace models of all sizes and backgrounds. The company also faced backlash in February 2020 after a report published by The New York Times accused the brand's former officer Ed Razek of sexual harassment, bullying and creating a culture of misogyny.
Razek denied the allegations at the time, telling the Times in an email that "the accusations in this reporting are categorically untrue, misconstrued or taken out of context," adding, "I've been fortunate to work with countless, world-class models and gifted professionals and take great pride in the mutual respect we have for each other."
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The annual fashion show was first held in August 1995, before running 23 more times in the years to follow — with the exception of 2004.
During its two-decade run, the show featured performances from the likes of Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Destiny's Child, Usher, Justin Timberlake, and others — incorporating a performance element into the runway starting in 2001.
The release of Hulu's exposé docuseries Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons in July 2022 further brought a history of misogyny and body-shaming under former owner Leslie Wexner to the surface after the initial fashion show cancellation.
The three-part series also covered the launch of the company's PINK line in the early 2000s — a brand targeted toward tweens and teenagers — and how both staffers and catwalk models felt uncomfortable with what they perceived as marketing that made children feel bad about themselves.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE at that time, the brand addressed the documentary and shared that it has since evolved after becoming a stand-alone company in 2021. "The company featured in this docuseries does not reflect today's Victoria's Secret & Co. When we became a stand-alone company in August 2021, we set out to regain the trust of our customers, associates and partners," a Victoria's Secret spokesperson told PEOPLE last year.
"Today, we are proud to be a different company, with a new leadership team and mission to welcome, celebrate, and champion all women. This transformation is a journey, and our work continues to become the Victoria's Secret our customers and associates deserve — where everyone feels seen, respected, and valued."
