The model says 'they're trying to work on branding.'
The 2019 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show has officially been canceled.
L Brands, which owns the lingerie company, made the announcement on Thursday, citing the need to "evolve the messaging" of the company, according to multiple reports.
The first murmurs of cancellation came in July, when Australian model Shanina Shaik told The Daily Telegraph that the annual lingerie show, which has been broadcast by CBS and ABC in recent years, will not take place in 2019. ET has reached out to Victoria's Secret for comment.
"Unfortunately, the Victoria's Secret show won't be happening this year," said Shaik, who walked in the fashion show in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. "It's something I'm not used to because every year around this time I'm training like an angel. But I'm sure in the future something will happen, which I'm pretty sure about."
"I'm sure they're trying to work on branding and new ways to do the show, because it's the best show in the world," she added.
In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that the fashion show wouldn't be televised in 2019, though there was no mention of the show not happening at all. The outlet reported that in an internal memo sent to employees, Chairman and Chief Executive Les Wexner of L Brands, the parent retailer of Victoria's Secret, said he had "decided to re-think the traditional Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Going forward we don’t believe network television is the right fit."
Wexner reportedly said the company would instead focus this year on developing content and a new kind of event "in ways that will push the boundaries of fashion in the global digital age." The show was webcast before moving to network television.
During a third quarter earnings call, Marni Shapiro, asked Stuart Burgdoerfer, Victoria's Secret CFO, if there would be a fashion show this year, to which he responded, "Nothing, no. We’ll be communicating to customers, but nothing that I would say is similar in magnitude to the fashion show. You can be sure we’ll be communicating with customers through lots of vehicles including social media and various, more current platforms, if you will."
Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima and more walked in last year's fashion show, which took place in New York City. See more in the video below.
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