I watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show every year. I follow the models between shows too. That probably surprises anyone who knows me chiefly as the man building a Maltese newsroom and far too many other projects. A person is allowed more than one obsession. Tonight, mine is the runway.
The easiest explanation would be that the women are beautiful. Of course they are. But that is not why I keep watching. I am interested in the way a model claims a few seconds of space: the pace, the shoulders, a glance, the decision to smile or not to. Give the same outfit to two people and you get two different performances. That is the art I come back for.
This year the show moves to Los Angeles. Victoria’s Secret says its livestream begins on Sunday, 18 October at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, which is 1:30 a.m. on Monday in Malta. The pink carpet starts half an hour earlier. The official YouTube channel is the simplest place to watch; the company has also named its social channels. You do not need a Prime Video subscription for tonight’s live show.
The people I am waiting for
Gigi Hadid can make a huge production feel almost casual. Candice Swanepoel has the assurance of somebody who has known that runway for years. Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio carry the show’s memory with them. Barbara Palvin’s return has a different emotional charge: the person on that stage has a life beyond the stage, and the stage should be big enough for that life.
I am also interested in the people whose names are not yet familiar. Victoria’s Secret has promised to reveal a new Angel through its Angels Among Us search. A debut can be a model’s most nervous walk and the one we remember longest. I want to give those women at least as much attention as the legends.
The soundtrack is part of the show
KATSEYE, Megan Moroney, Megan Thee Stallion and Tate McRae are scheduled to perform. Tate has just released Housewife, a song that arrived at exactly the right moment for a stage built around image, expectation and the freedom to write your own part. I will not pretend to know what she will sing tonight. I am looking forward to finding out.
There will be wings, lights and arguments about whether the new show can ever be the old one. I hope it cannot be exactly the old one. Nostalgia is lovely until it becomes a rule. What I want is the pleasure of recognising a walk I love and the surprise of discovering somebody new.
This column represents the author's view. It is separate from News Beast's automated, source-backed news reports.