Victoria’s Secret left me wanting more, not in a good way

The annual Victoria’s Secret (VS) Fashion Show, known to many as the women's Super Bowl, went live Sunday evening. As I always do, I tuned in to watch.

The VS Fashion Show has a long history, starting in 1995. This high-profile runway presentation has historically been a way for VS to show their best pieces, including the Fantasy Bra, which first debuted in 1996 when it was known as the Million-Dollar Bra (this is, of course, because it cost a million dollars). The Fantasy Bra is commonly the most expensive and intricate piece of the show and is worn by the most outstanding model. Past years have seen models such as Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen and Adriana Lima.

The Fantasy Bra is heavily adorned with jewels, which is what makes it so expensive. The bras are consistently between one and five million dollars in value, with some up to 15 million. This year, however, VS outdid themselves. The 75.54-carat radiant-cut Fancy Vivid yellow diamond centerpiece alone cost 22 million dollars, and the total value of the bra reached 50 million.

I believe the reason behind this spectacular Fantasy Bra debut is that VS has not featured a Fantasy Bra in the Fashion Show for eight years. In 2018, the last Fantasy Bra was worn by Elsa Hosk, who returned to walk again this year. The VS Fashion Show went quiet after 2018, only returning two years ago with a short show in New York City.

Now, the biggest discourse surrounding this year’s show is not the expense of the Fantasy Bra, but who wore it. In the past, the Fantasy Bra has been reserved for premiere models as listed above. This was not the case this year, even though many top models walked in the show, including Adriana Lima, Alex Consani, Anok Yai, Candice Swanepoel, Barbara Palvin, both Hadid sisters and Alessandra Ambrosio (who was also celebrating her 20th VS walk).

But instead, guess who wore it? Kylie Jenner. Yeah, what? She’s not a model, she’s never walked for VS, I don’t get it. Even Kendall Jenner would’ve made more sense, since she’s actually a model, and has even walked in three previous VS Fashion Shows. Kylie, to me, is just an influencer, and lowkey a nepo baby. It makes no sense for her to have what is arguably the highest honor of the VS Fashion Show. Let her walk, sure, if you want, but she should not have worn the Fantasy Bra.

Another big part of the VS Fashion Show is the performances. Past performances include Ellie Goulding, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Hozier, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake.

The past three years of performances have been ... okay. This year also brought mixed reviews, bringing a total of four performers to the stage. I do like that VS has been focusing on female artist in the past few years, since male artists sometimes made the models uncomfortable. This year saw Megan Moroney, Tate McRae, KATSEYE (for the PINK Halftime Show) and my personal favorite, Megan Thee Stallion.

I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the first three performances, they just didn’t feel sexy. Especially Megan Moroney, who performed first. The country breakup song just wasn’t giving. She performed during the “Vintage Victoria” section, and the poor models were continually having to duck and dodge Moroney as she just walked in front of them with her wings on. It was just a mess.

Now, Tate McRae performed during the “Summer Fever” line, and this in my opinion was the biggest lost chance of the show. They should've had Zara Larson perform. Like come on, summer, Midnight Sun, it would’ve been so perfect. She’s also a baddie deserving of some VS wings and a beautiful set.

McRae’s performance was definitely sexier than Moroney’s, but I didn’t feel like it really matched the line on display. The dancers did a fabulous job, which is a common theme in these live performances.

Okay and.... the PINK Halftime Show. I really hated this. KATSEYE is having a lot of its own problems right now, and the tension was obvious among the four remaining members. Not only this, but their performance sucked, it was tasteless, the music sucks, I have nothing nice to say. The models looked good, especially Quentin Blackwell, but the PINK Halftime show was buns to say the least.

And finally, the pièce de résistance, Megan Thee Stallion. I wish she had a longer performance. It was so good, they had her perform during the “Winter Reprise” showing, she’s Tina Snow, ugh it was so good and she looked sooooo good. You could tell the models felt empowered by her performance and she was equally feeling herself. Being in the VS Fashion Show is her dream come true, and she loved every second of it.

A couple of final thoughts, why did we put Anok Yai in a flower? Why? Like she still looks amazing but why? It’s almost an insult to put her of all models in that thing.

Also, we were promised a glitter runway. I didn’t see a glitter runway. Don’t promise something you can’t deliver on. Also, this show revealed the winner of the “Angels Among Us” series, and I'll be honest, I didn’t know who she was until I googled it post-show. I guess I should’ve watched the series, but none of the show had graphics for viewers at home to know what was going on. I only know what the different collections are called from YouTube playback. My favorite collection was “Autumn Changes.”

Barbara Palvin is so strong. Last year she walked after having endometriosis surgery. This year she walked six weeks postpartum. Both times looking stunning.

The models looked amazing, the pieces were fabulous, the wings were gorgeous and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year.