Victoria's Secret new patent hints that its axed annual fashion show could return in the metaverse

• Victoria's Secret is the latest retailer to join the metaverse.
• A series of trademark applications this month show it plans to sell virtual goods and run virtual fashion shows.

Victoria's Secret killed its annual fashion show in 2019 but a new patent filing suggests that it could one day come back in the metaverse.

The lingerie giant filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 8, which was later shared on Twitter by trademark attorney Josh Gerben.

According to the documents, Victoria's Secret has filed trademarks to sell virtual goods such as clothing, undergarments, and footwear.

In addition, it is looking to trademark "retail store services featuring virtual goods" and "entertainment services" such as photos, images, videos, and recorded footage, which it will use in virtual fashion shows, it said.

Insider reached out to Victoria's Secret for further comment but did not immediately hear back.

Victoria's Secret is among major brands such as Nike and Adidas to be filing patents to protect their brand in the metaverse. Many of these may never get used but experts say that brands are wise to act early, rather than sitting on the sidelines and missing opportunities.

"Smart brands will indeed buy real virtual estate and hire builders to develop their brand presence and experiences, where they will sell both digital and physical products to consumers who split their time between worlds," , founder of industry website Retail Prophet, wrote in a blog post last year.

He added that "laggard brands and organizations will be stuck in the real world and, even worse, in the ghetto that the legacy internet will become."

Victoria's Secret already said that it plans to bring its fashion show back in some form in the future but hasn't confirmed what that would look like or when it will happen. "We're not in a hurry to announce when that will be or how that will be ... but we will redefine it in a way that's culturally relevant in the coming years," CEO Martin Waters said in a presentation to investors last year.

Still, the new show will not feature its Angels, the scantily dressed models who walked its show for years and who were ditched by Victoria's Secret in June in order to work with a new group of spokeswomen.