The fashion show, at its peak viewership in 2001, 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.

Cancellation, officially announced in November 2019 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.

[4] Critics of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show considered it objectifying, lacking in diversity of body sizes,[5] and repeatedly inclined towards offensive cultural appropriation with its designs.

[3] In 2024, Victoria's Secret announced a return of the show by posting an Instagram Reel featuring Tyra Banks.

[6] The first fashion show, introduced by Stephanie Seymour, was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in August 1995.

[8] Supermodel Stephanie Seymour rang the closing bell at the NYSE as part of the publicity campaign after the event had been promoted by full page adds in the Wall Street Journal.

[11][12][13] In 1999, during Super Bowl XXXIII, Victoria's Secret announced a 72-hour countdown to the webcast of their fashion show, which resulted in over 2 million viewers.

[15] The event, hosted by Broadcast.com,[15] featured Tyra Banks, Laetitia Casta, Heidi Klum, Karen Mulder, Daniela Peštová, Inés Rivero, and Seymour.

The May 2000 fashion show, held in France in sync with the Cannes Film Festival, was made with production help from Harvey Weinstein.

[19] The 2001 show, hosted by Rupert Everett,[20] returned to New York City and was held at Bryant Park in the Valhalla structure, designed by Rudi Enos.

[24] Victoria's Secret sister brand PINK made its debut on the runway starting in 2006 and was regularly featured in a segment of the fashion show each year afterward.

[31] The 2008 show coincided with the grand re-opening of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel and had Usher as a featured performer.

In 2009, the fashion show returned to the Lexington Avenue Armory and featured the "Victoria's Secret Model Search", a competition to find a new runway Angel with the winner announced as Kylie Bisutti.

[33] The 2010 Victoria's Secret Fashion show aired on November 30, 2010, on CBS, and featured performances by Katy Perry and Akon.

The 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show featured performances by Taylor Swift, A Great Big World, Neon Jungle, and Fall Out Boy.

[40] In 2014, the Victoria's Secret Fashion show featured performances by Taylor Swift; Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, and Hozier.

Goulding was contracted as a replacement for Rihanna, who had canceled her appearance just one week before the show in order to focus on recording her album Anti.

[43] The executive producer of Victoria's Secret, Ed Razek, chose Grand Palais in Paris, France, as the show's location.

Razek apologized for the "insensitive" comments, noting that trans women have attempted to audition for the show in the past, but that "it was never about gender.

Razek also faced criticism for similar comments regarding plus-size models, stating they had not attempted to do a show for them since 2000 since there was no viewer interest.

[1] In May 2019, it was reported that L Brands CEO Les Wexner had issued a memo questioning the future of the show, stating that network television was no longer the "right fit", and that the company planned to focus on "developing exciting and dynamic content and a new kind of event.

Victoria's Secret had also been experiencing an overall decline due to increasing competition, as well as changing perceptions to the company's marketing—which a retail analyst described as encouraging women to objectify themselves to "impress men".

[52][53] On November 21, 2019, L Brands CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer officially confirmed that the 2019 fashion show had been canceled, citing its declining viewership and lack of immediate "material impact" on Victoria's Secret sales post-broadcast.

[55] On March 5, 2023, Victoria's Secret chief financial officer Tim Johnson stated during an earnings call that the company was planning a "new version" of the fashion show.

A World Tour fashion collection associated will the documentary will be offered on Amazon and the Victoria's Secret website.

[65] In 2009, the American Decency Association organized email letters of protests to sponsors of the show including AT&T, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Netflix, Nikon, and Reebok.

The $15 million price tag for the 2000 bra worn by Gisele Bündchen earned a place in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive item of lingerie ever created.