# Victoria's Secret bet $12M on creators over paid ads for its 2024 fashion show *Luxury brands are abandoning platform spend for owned media and direct creator deals that build equity instead of rent it.* By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC. Published 2026-06-26. Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/victorias-secret-canali-and-emerging-luxury-2026-06-26t06-6 Subject: Victoria's Secret, Canali, and emerging luxury Tags: creator marketing, owned media, luxury retail, event marketing, physical product, influencer strategy --- Victoria's Secret spent an estimated **$12 million** on its 2024 fashion show in New York, according to Glossy, and allocated the majority of that budget to recruiting and activating creators rather than buying platform ads. The brand brought in influencers across fashion, lifestyle, and body positivity verticals, gave them backstage access, and turned them into distributed broadcast nodes. The show generated **over 1 billion impressions** in 48 hours, per the brand's internal metrics, without a single dollar spent on Meta or Google. The mechanics were simple. Victoria's Secret invited **150+ creators** with audiences ranging from **50,000 to 5 million followers** to the event. Each received VIP treatment, branded gifts, and content licensing terms that let them post freely. The brand did not demand exclusivity or script the posts. Instead, it built an environment worth documenting and let the creators do what they do. The result was a flood of organic posts, Stories, Reels, and TikToks that reached audiences the brand could never affordably access via paid media. This worked because the brand recognized a structural shift in how attention is distributed. Platforms sell reach, but creators sell trust. When a creator posts about an event they attended, their audience receives it as testimony, not advertising. The engagement rate on creator-generated content from the Victoria's Secret show averaged **8.2%**, according to Glossy, compared to the typical **0.5-1.5%** on paid social ads in fashion. The brand got distribution, credibility, and content it can repurpose across owned channels for months. The same logic applies at any scale. A small physical-product brand cannot afford a **$12 million** fashion show, but it can host a **$2,000** creator event at a local venue or warehouse. Invite **10-15 micro-creators** in your category with **5,000-50,000 followers**. Offer them product, behind-the-scenes access, and a reason to post. Do not script the content. Instead, design the environment to be visually dense and emotionally generous. Give them something to show their audience that feels exclusive. The cost per impression will be **5-10x lower** than paid ads, and the content will carry social proof paid media cannot manufacture. The broader pattern is luxury brands pulling spend from platforms and redirecting it into owned experiences and direct relationships. Canali, the Italian luxury menswear brand, appointed a new creative director in 2024 to focus on leisurewear for younger buyers, according to Retail Insider. Victoria's Secret is rebuilding its brand identity through in-person events rather than digital campaigns. The lesson is that platforms extract rent; owned media and creator relationships build equity. The next move is to map your creator pool, design an event or unboxing experience worth documenting, and let them distribute it for you. ## The takeaway Spend on experiences creators want to document, not on platform ads they scroll past. --- ## Publisher **Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339. Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**. - Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about - LLM context: https://www.pops4.com/stash/llms.txt - MCP endpoint, for AI agents: https://mcp.pops4.com/mcp - Client dashboard: https://dashboard.pops4.com/ - Catalogue: 70,000+ products, 200+ brands