Photos of this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show have already dropped, and people are *seemingly* into it. Stories about the models (the usual super-slim Angels, alongside some new faces) or the outfits (the typical knee-high boots, wings and jewelled bras) are trending on top fashion sites like Vogue and Cosmopolitan.

On the flip side, there has also been a lot of talk this year about the show needing an overhaul amid calls that it reflects dated values that don’t hold up in 2018. Models like Robyn Lawley have condemned the brand for failing to include plus-sized models; VS has also been criticized for portraying female sexuality in a problematic way and for promoting the idea that only women of a certain size have value.

We don’t need to see this year’s full show, which airs on ABC on December 2, to know that brand hasn’t heeded these calls. Instead, a Vogue interview with the masterminds behind the show—Ed Razek, chief marketing officer of L Brands, VS’s parent company, and Monica Mitro, executive vice president of public relations for the lingerie retailer— has told us everything we need to know.

Victoria’s Secret isn’t interested in plus-size consumers

There’s an obvious reason the VS Show doesn’t feature plus-size models: there wouldn’t be much for them to wear. (The current size range is underwear to XL, bras to 40DDD.)

When asked about Rihanna’s lingerie company, Savage x Fenty—which is relatively size inclusive by comparison, with underwear to 3X, bras to 44DD—Razek made it clear that plus-size customers aren’t a priority.

“We market to who we sell to, and we don’t market to the whole world,” he told Vogue.

Point taken.

The brand is clearly defensive about Savage x Fenty

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“Everybody keeps talking about Rihanna’s show,” Razek told Vogue, before noting that VS has previously had three pregnant models walk its shows. “We watch this, we’re amused by it, but we don’t milk it. And all of these things that they’ve “invented,” we have done and continue to do.”

Well, not exactly: Rihanna’s New York Fashion Week show featured models of all shapes and ethnicities in a lush, Garden-of-Eden-like setting. They rolled around on the ground, did yoga, and basically moved around in any which way they pleased.

In comparison, only two out of the 14 official Victoria’s Secret Angels are women of colour. No model who walked this year’s VS Fashion Show is plus-sized, and the show’s format is that of a traditional runway show: models walk down the catwalk, hands on hips or waving to the crowd. They then turn around and walk back. Other than some booty shakes, it’s all pretty basic.

Gender diversity? No thanks

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Transgender models have made notable strides this year, with 45 transgender models walking the spring 2018 runways, compared to the 12 who walked in 2017. But you won’t see any trans representation in this year’s VS show.

“It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show?” Razek told Vogue. “No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is.”

To which we say: our dream world is diverse af, thank you very much.

Ultimately, this lack of inclusivity is bad for business

Aside from being close-minded, Victoria’s Secret’s lack of inclusivity seems like straight-up bad business. Earlier this year, Business Insider reported that lingerie retailer Aerie—whose campaigns have included women in wheelchairs along with celebrities like Olympian Aly Raisman, who has been a prominent voice in the #MeToo movement—reported record-high 38% same-store sales growth in the first quarter of 2018. By comparison, the report noted that Victoria’s Secret had grown by 1% during the same period, after negative growth in the previous quarter.

And things have only gotten worse: in July 2018, CNBC reported that Victoria’s Secret“sent stocks tumbling” after weak sales forced it to extend its semi-annual sale and further slash discounts.

Just one month earlier, Savage x Fenty’s debut collection sold out entirely.

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Filed under: Victoria's Secret Fashion Show