Anleu 1 Katya Anleu

Ashley Humphries

ENC1101

April 15, 2015

Re-Branding of Victorias Secret

Unknown fashion can become iconic overnight, yet a world known brand can take

over three years to become the ideal brand they strive to be. The 18th annual Victorias

Secret Fashion Show has come a long way from its first one in 1995. The first show to

ever be broadcasted was in 2001, which took a poll on turning the lingerie brand into an

empire of underwear. The elaborated lingerie costumes have become remarkable as top

models strut down the iconic sparkling runway, along with top music entertainers from

that year. Each year, the Victorias Secret Fashion Show makes a unique remark with

different themes and embellished new looks. Every single show is tied together through

the use of the iconic Angel Wings. Each show starts out with a little preview of what the

next 45-60 minutes will consist of. In the very first minute of every show, we are exposed

to a montage of anticipated models and producers minutes before the show, giving us an

insight on what seems to be Victorias secret. I have found that the first minute of the past

three Victorias Secret Fashion shows have set the road for the couture direction that the

company wants to take. The clear changes from 2012 to 2014 in organization, themes and

atmosphere have boosted the chances of a Victorias Secret store opening on Champs-

lyses.

Organization is the key to any successful fashion show except for the Victorias

Secret Fashion Shows. The 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show could have been a total

Anleu 2 disaster and the company still would have been worth $5 billion (Guthrie, Marisa). The

drastic boost in organization in 2014 shows that the company wants to be known as more

than just an underwear department store with fun broadcasted fashion shows; they want

to be taken serious enough to possibly sell in Bergdorf Goodman, the high end fashion

department store in New York City. In the first minute of the 2012 Victoria's Secret

Fashion Show we are given backstage access as we hear the sounds of muffled voices

coming from the producers and the directors backstage talking to each other through

earpieces. The show captures the viewers attention by giving them the feeling that they

are important enough to have an earpiece. What is actually happening is our blood level

shooting up along with the crews because all we hear is the chaotic stress and the all-

over-the-place conversations between the producers. Of course an inside looks at what is

happening before the show makes us feel like we are in on the secrets, yet the

organization makes us look down at the brand. All we are thinking is did they rehearse

anything? Of course this show has the uniqueness of opening with an insider, which is

what separates Victorias Secret from other fashion shows, but it also separates it from

other fashions shows that are on another level. For example, when watching the seasonal

Chanel fashion show it is 15 minutes of pure runway looks. If we want to see some

behind the scenes, we have to look up the special features. It is in the nature of high-end

fashion brands to keep the access to a minimum: Gucci doesnt want you to associate the

word unorganized with their show and Dior doesnt even allow cameras backstage.

Knowing all of this is what makes the not-very- well-organized brand incomparable to

the kind of brands sold in Bergdorf Goodman. The fact that Victorias Secret attracts

people who feel connected to the lack of organization is why their daily costumer is your

Anleu 3 average every day woman. It is a human instinct to add one plus one, and in this case it is

adding Victorias Secret and no organization that equals to affordable.

2014 is the ultimate year when the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is clear on

what direction they want to take the brand in. It seems to be the year that the company

decides to start moving up the brands level and push it higher, near Marc Jacobs and

Cach. The opener in 2013 foreshadows this outtake in the brand. Like 2012, in 2013 we

are given an earpiece in which we hear these directors narrate the models, stating who is

where and what is going on. This year we hear positive words like beautiful and thank

you guys unlike last years chaotic sounds of people holding back stressful curses. The

positivity not only helps the atmosphere be dandier, it also helps the brand give off a

much more organized feeling. When we hear the director say beautiful, it automatically

makes us think that they must have practiced that so many times that it had to be

beautiful. Of course, high fashion shows dont need someone telling us that something

was done beautifully because the beauty of high fashion lies within the ease that each

garment has when it takes its spot on the runway. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

had to start adjusting somewhere, and they did, in what we hear. The visuals are full of

models running around with a bunch of

people following them, pampering them

at each step. Although we hear the words

let her go, let her go, let her go being

slurred into the earpiece letting us in on

some of the chaos, we cannot expect the show to go from intimates to couture in one year

(Razek, Ed). I mean high-end fashion takes its time.

Anleu 4 The lack of narration in 2014 adds to the emotion of a high couture show by

paralleling this fashion show to a high fashion designer show. There is no need to count

down to the beginning of the show, because the opener speaks for itself. The emptiness of

a voice telling us who is where, and what is who gives the viewer the chance to really just

look. It allows the creativity in our minds to create the tone and create our own pedestal

for the show without having someone tell us exactly what to feel and exactly what to

notice. We can now take it all in and focus on what the show is truly about: the garments.

The uniqueness of Victorias Secret the

brand is noticeable within the fact that

there is an opening scene. There is no

high fashion brand that creates an

opening scene for their fashion show, yet

the elegance that the VS Company takes upon in 2014 is comparable to Gucci and Louis

Vuitton. The organization in focusing on the Angels and the bras and the underwear is

phenomenal. It keeps the exposure of the chaotic last minute work to a minimum; the

2014 fashion show provides a clear view of the couture direction Victorias Secret wants to achieve.

The Victorias Secret Fashion

Shows know how to set the mood for their

chosen theme each year. In between the

acrobat circus acts in 2012 and the Queens

soldiers in 2013, the show goes above and

beyond giving the viewer the whole deal. The theme of each fashion show happens to

Anleu 5 evolve from a fun-childish theme in 2012 to a fashion theme in 2014. The maturity seen

throughout the beginning of the past 3 shows reflects the maturity of the re-branding of

Victorias Secret. Just like any other high fashion brand, the London theme in the 2014

fashion show becomes just a detail. In 2012, the magicians being along the models in the

runway is what kept lowering their ranking because as a viewer. Not only did the

continuous emphasis of the theme become repetitive, it became distracting. In the

preview we are shown about seven times, in a minute time frame, the overpowering

theme. You dont even have to watch the show to know that it will most likely be like

watching a circus. The beauty of the garments is taken away by all of these distractions.

Finally in the 2014 show opener less is

more. The theme this year is clearly the fashion

that Victorias Secret offers. All of the scenes in

this preview take place outside at night. The

darkness from the lack of sun creates a romantic

and sexy vibe, which is how one should feel when wearing Victorias Secret. Models are

wearing bright lingerie that contrasts the darkness of the outside. It is like a spotlight is

shining on each lingerie piece, giving off the feeling that no matter how dark it is, when

wearing Victorias Secret you will always shine. This wants to make the viewer feel

intimidated unless you completely know fashion. Knowing fashion is many time

correlated to fashion weeks and high-end fashion brands, which is exactly, what

Victorias Secret want to be. The stillness of darkness adds to the presentation of the

wings creating a major importance to the wings. The flashing scenes of the worshipped

white wings throughout the opener bring back the memory of the 2013 silky-white

Anleu 6 couture like wings. The same high-couture sensation we were given last year with the

similar set of wings shows the constant couture theme the brand is creating, rebranding

into high-fashion. Here we can see how the brand is going from sexy lingerie to sexy

runway looks. The white silky sets of wings resemble the

elegance of a gala couture dress. A more embellished look that

seeks more detail and hand made elaboration. Haute Couture is

all about the detail and how each piece of clothing ties to one

another to create the story of the 10 different hands it went

through (Koket). In the history of the shows they have never covered up this much.

The rebranding that Victorias Secret is going through is a blast from the past.

This isnt the first time the brand rebrands. In 1983 Victorias Secret changed from

everyday underwear and bras into extravagant, burlesque-like looks, turning the intimates

department store from being a $7 million brand to becoming a $6.12 billion company

(Tomasino, Anna). In 2012, collection creative director Sophia Neophitou let us in on a

secret: As time goes on, we want the Victorias Secret collection to be more couture-y,

and this can only be achieved with time. That statement seems to have become the goal

for the lingerie line as a whole.

The 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is the companys limbo year in re-

branding. It is opened with a scene of a marching band invading the sparkling runway,

instantly creating a strict and firm atmosphere. A second after, we are immediately taken

backstage where we see the Angels start to line up, and salute the camera as it focuses on

each one. In between the saluting and the down beats we are instantly reminded of an

army. I believe that this fashion show was easing in the idea of the rebranding because

Anleu 7 the army feel creates a prepared scenario. It is the companys way of telling people that

this is the turning point of the brand, and they are ready to share a spotlight with the

worshipped brands such as Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.

Within the first seconds of the 2014 Victorias Secret Fashion Show, we see

immediate and drastic changes in atmosphere. Throughout the years, these fashion shows

have been held in locations such as Miami, Los Angeles and Cannes. This year, we are in

London, the city of fashion. Not only is this huge because this is the first show to be held

in a fashion capital, but the fact that the production was taken overseas to a city where

Fashion Weeks are worshiped reflects a major change in the level of Victorias Secret

couture. This is a city where brands such as Chanel and Dior come to expose collections,

where designers dream of coming to study the art of fashion. London is a city where you

find emotion and creativity through the strut of models and the creation of a statement

without the use of words. Victorias Secret takes on London and begins a journey into

what seems to be their rebranding into high fashion couture. In the opening of the 2014 Victorias

Secret Fashion Show, we see less glitter and more

London than ever before. We hear an English

man narrating the incredible and luxurious night

scenes we see of London, A mighty city has stood proud in England for over 2,000

years. We are shown dramatic black and white scenes showing Londons history, and

the spoken description of how the great city has withstood plagues, war and fire, leads

you to believe that it will now withstand the power of Victorias Secret. Unlike any of the

past years, there is no interaction with backstage chaos, just the pure history of how the

Anleu 8 city celebrates traditions and royalty. The opening of the fashion show is a montage of

beautiful scenes of the city along with a glorified, angelic song that portrays the Angels

of the show. Looking over the Buckingham palace, the Queens soldiers are standing still

as the first model comes out dressed just like the soldier, and smiles at the camera as the

songs keeps playing.

This image of top model Behati coming out of the Buckingham palace, in her

sexy yet embellished lingerie is a power statement of royalty. Here we have a model

walking on royal grounds, grounds that have belonged to the royal family for centuries, in

nothing but a bra and underwear. The way that

Victorias Secret is rebranding into a more high fashion brand lies with the power of the super

models. The controversial scenes we have of

models walking the streets of London next to the royal marching band gives each model a

royal attitude that correlates with the feeling that creative directors want to transmit. This

in itself shows how the brand is looking to appeal to a different kind of customer.

The opening montage of each fashion shows is crucial when wanting to hook the

viewers attention for the next hour. First impressions are the most memorable, especially

when 9.3 million people are tuned in to watch (Lutz, Ashley). The chance that the

brand Victorias Secret is taken more serious than just sexy models in underwear is low,

yet it is a challenge thats been accepted by the company. In between the visuals and the

overall atmosphere of the first seconds, Victorias Secret has announced that they are

officially moving up from an underwear department store.

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Bibliography

Guthrie, Marisa. "How 'Victoria's Secret Fashion Show' Turns $12 Million Into $5

Billion in One Hour." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 28 Nov. 2011. Web. 18

Apr. 2015. Koket. "Haute Couture: The Making of Victorias Secret Wings." Love Happens Blog

Haute Couture The Making of Victorias Secret Wings Comments. N.p., 15 Dec.

2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. Lutz, Ashley. "How Victoria's Secret Became The Most Popular Apparel Brand In The

World." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Apr.

2015. Razek, Ed, dir. Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. 2012. Television. Tomasino, Anna. Discovering Popular Culture. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007.

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