Can Victoria's Secret Survive In A Post-Me Too World?

Victoria’s Secret returned last week with angel wings, push-up bras and gymhoned bodies. But what does the world’s biggest fashion show mean for women now? Hannah Flint reports from New York.

- Hannah Flint

I’m standIng backstage at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York amid a sea of pink. The world’s top models are in silky black dressing gowns and only-just-concealed push-up bras. All around me, an army of make-up artists and hairstylists tend to the Hadids, Kendall Jenner and Stella Maxwell as they prepare to walk in the biggest fashion event of the year.

For every model here (there are 60 walking today), this is the single most significant date in their calendar. If that sounds overblown, see Gigi Hadid, who has labelled Victoria’s Secret ‘forever and always the show of my dreams’, or Adriana Lima, who walked for the final time last week after 19 years, and who has described it as ‘the highlight of my life’.

Earlier this year, when Winnie Harlow announced she would be joining the cast for the first time, she posted a video on Instagram crying tears of joy. ‘Thank you so much to my fans who have been pushing me forward to this point in my career,’ she wrote. ‘I’m so blessed thank you Lord!!!’

But why is it such a big deal? ‘It’s a pinnacle in every single model’s career,’ says Winnie when we meet before the show. ‘There’s not a model you can ask that doesn’t want VS. There have been so many legendary people before us, who we’ve looked up to. To be able to walk in their footsteps is legendary for our own career.’