December 20, 2016
“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
While we all know the women who LIVE for the Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual sales or always get those phone notifications for the 7/$27 online or in-store panties, we ALSO know how much they love tuning into the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the end of each year.
Every year, I have the chance of viewing the runway show in hopes of finding out the new looks that will be in the stores the next few seasons. However, another thing I always notice is the amount of diversity Victoria's Secret allows on their runways. Not just body shape, but also the culture. A lot of culture. If you know me personally, you know how much I care for and advocate diversity. The reason is because I believe that every individual deserves a chance to shine--not just one race, body type, sexual orientation, physical appearance, etc.
Out of the 51 models that graced the runway on December 5th, 4 Asian models were introduced, a handful of people of color, in addition to the models with either white or other descent. Noticing this gives many women the hope and aspirations to feel like they not only belong in Victoria's Secret clothing, but they also have a chance to represent their culture while doing something they love.
Realitee Payne, a close friend, Victoria's Secret employee for over 2 years, and natural hair guru also notices the changes within the VSecret modeling agency. She states, "I think they're doing a lot better. They've made the fashion show and the brand diverse as a whole. I think by [Victoria's Secret] accepting that some of the girls have natural hair and letting them walk while wearing it is a great move. It shows that the brand accepts women of all cultures and ethnicities without trying to make them assimilate."
In addition, Realitee believes that this change is also affecting Victoria's Secret marketing sales positively. She says that Victoria's Secret has even "lowered their price points on a lot of items to make them more affordable." Lowering price points not only allows more people to afford their brand name, but also gives others the chance to diversify the clothing to make it their own--culture wise.
Watching the fashion show not only provides entertainment through the multiple theme changes, live performances (which were to DIE for this year!), and favorite celebrity models, but it also inspires little girls to never settle for the bare minimum because of their culture and background. Diversity gives multiple women and men the chance to shoot for whatever dream they've always wanted to achieve!
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/victorias-secret-multicultural-runway-2016-edition
Cover Image Credit: Glamour.com