Victoria’s Secret has had obvious problems for years. The venerable lingerie brand has been publicly criticized for its lack of body inclusivity, its out-of-dateness and alleged mistreatment of its models.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been on hiatus for six years as the fashion industry grapples with body positivity, transgender rights and the MeToo movement. But in recent years, the brand seems to have taken a step back and listened to the criticism. Victoria’s Secret has recently been renewed.
The brand’s flashiest night was back swinging on Tuesday with a show streamed on Prime Video. Musicians included Thai star Lisa who opened the show, South African pop star Tyra and the timeless Cher. The company said its legacy lingerie brands strive to stay current to “reflect who we are today.”
Why the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back and what has really changed? Salon answers all your burning questions about the lingerie brand’s controversy.
What kinds of controversies have plagued the brand in the past?
Despite the changes that are currently defining the brand, it has survived deep controversies within its leadership and brand culture that have permeated the zeitgeist.
Hulu’s documentary “Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons” focuses on a series of troubling company issues, including the close relationship between Leslie Wexner, CEO and founder of parent company L Brands, and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. I guessed it. Mr. Epstein became Mr. Wexner’s primary financial advisor. Epstein was also given the power to represent Wexner in all financial and legal matters.
This led to allegations that Epstein exploited Wexner’s property and wealth so that he could abuse young girls. He would pose as a Victoria’s Secret recruiter and seduce young models. Wexner was informed of his actions, and the documentary says no action was taken as the abuse continued for years.
Beyond the legal issues surrounding the Epstein scandal, the brand’s lack of acceptance of transgender and plus-size models was a concern for customers and catwalk viewers. In a 2018 interview with Vogue, Ed Razek, former chief marketing officer and architect of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, asked, “Have you considered having a transgender model in your show? If you’re wondering if we’ve considered having a model in that size, we have a model in the show.”
He braced himself and said: Shouldn’t we have transsexuals on the show? No, I don’t think you should. So why not? Because this show is a fantasy. ”
Razek later apologized for his comments and resigned the same year. However, the New York Times
In 2020, he exposed what he claimed was a “culture of misogyny” at the company. He also addressed Mr. Razek’s alleged treatment of the brand’s models. The report claimed that models and employees complained of inappropriate behavior, including people trying to kiss the models and touching their crotches.
Razek said the allegations were “categorically false, misconstrued or taken out of context” and said the company was “committed to continuous improvement and full accountability.”
The brand’s models also refrain from harmful marketing and messaging, particularly in its “Perfect Body” campaign. This 2014 campaign featured 10 thin models, some with visible ribs. ABC News reported that the ad’s text read, “A body for every body.”
Shortly after the highly criticized campaign, Karlie Kloss, one of the brand’s high-profile models, said, “I didn’t feel it was an image that truly reflected who I am and the message I want to convey.” I left the company for some reason. We send a message to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful. ”
Another model, Robyn Lawley, also led a campaign to boycott Victoria’s Secret entirely, saying it tells women that “only one type of body” is beautiful, according to Forbes. Reported.
So what has changed at Victoria’s Secret a few years later?
As viewership numbers dwindled, competing brands like Rihanna’s SavageXFenty put inclusivity at the forefront of their brands, knocking Victoria’s Secret out of the game.
Through sheer cultural force, the brand has moved away from “telling customers ‘what’s sexy and how to look’ and instead focused on supporting consumers ‘at every stage of life.’ “
Shortly before Razek resigned in 2019, the brand hired its first transgender model, Valentina Sampaio. Shortly after, the company also hired its first plus-size model, Ali Tate Cutler, and subsequently canceled its fashion shows. And in 2021, Wexner officially left L Brands, finally opening the door for more changes within the company.
Teen Vogue reported that the company has started selling maternity bras for the first time. It has also launched a new campaign that brings together women of all shapes and sizes from all walks of life, including tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Sampaio, and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser. The company’s stores began displaying curvaceous mannequins nationwide.
“This is a transformation led by an entirely new board of seven members, six of whom are women,” writer Marilyn La Jeunesse wrote in Teen Vogue.
The 2024 fashion show also featured Gigi and Bella Hadid opening and closing the show, spotlighting the brand’s skinny and most popular supermodels. The legendary Adriana Lima also returned to adorn her angel wings. But they delivered on at least some of the changes they promised, including praising plus-size models Ashley Greene and Elsesser.
The show also featured Tyra Banks, the first black model in the brand’s history to be signed and cataloged. Banks’ voice opened the show, which she boasted was “an all-new Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show where women are in charge and in the spotlight.”
Transgender models Alex Consani and Sampaio, as well as 90s supermodels such as Kate Moss and Carla Bruni, were also celebrated.
The brand has been committed to diversity, inclusion, and body positivity, but Teen Vogue deputy editor-in-chief Aiyana Ishmael said, “It’s true that women were center stage on this show, but they always have been.” However, the male gaze can be softened by excluding male performers, and the events that result in women feeling good about themselves are mostly net positive, but they are not just a matter of uttering a word. That doesn’t mean we’re going to take action.”
Ishmael discovered that people online were begging for past Victoria’s Secret fashion shows that contained extremely harmful content about women’s bodies. She says that for other than a few plus models like Green and Elsesser, “the evidence is clear that aside from a few plus models (notably, most of whom fit straight sizes), the runways are overwhelmingly “It was very thin,” he said. ”
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