It’s the fashion show that trumps all fashion shows. Even Chanel’s. Yes, every year, just in time for the winter season when every woman is at her plumpest, Victoria’s Secret likes to put on its annual runway display of the latest batch of lingerie and waif-like models that will make their way into the distinct iconography of the VS moniker.
While the men who watch it are either gay or perverts (or Leonardo DiCaprio scouting his next girlfriend), the women who watch it are usually self-hating thin person aspirants. This year, the event took place in London, with the likes of Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande (waifs in their own right) performing. Appearances by Angel heavyweights (pardon the ironic term) Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio in the world’s most expensive lingerie also added to the insecurity of every woman watching the show in her non-matching H&M bra and underwear.
More than a question of why this spectacle even needs to exist is the question of why women torture themselves by watching it–usually while eating fat girl food staples like pizza. Do any of us really give that much of a shit about high-end lingerie unless it’s Agent Provacateur or we somehow morphed into Blair Waldorf or Madonna during the early 90s? The answer is no, leading one to believe that perhaps there is a more deeply rooted issue of not just self-loathing but getting off on self-loathing among American women.