In the early 2000s, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was a cultural juggernaut. Each year, millions tuned in to watch a meticulously staged vision of glamour unfold: diamanté-encrusted bras, sticky pink lip gloss, and bouncy blowouts. It wasn’t just a runway. It was a ceremony to all things sexy – high-octane, highly produced, and hyper-specific about what womanhood was supposed to look like.

Two decades later, Victoria’s Secret is trying to have it both ways. The show returned for its second comeback year, attempting to reclaim its place in the cultural conversation while steering clear of the mistakes that led to its fall. On the runway, the aesthetic is unmistakably nostalgic: a kitschy, saccharine fantasy. But threaded through the spectacle is a deliberate, if fragile, attempt to

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