The new diverse faces of Victoria’s Secret as brand ditches 6ft ‘Angels’ – from a transgender woman to plus-size model
IT is out with the old and a big halo to the new faces of Victoria’s Secret.
In a bid to reinvent its “dated” image, the lingerie brand has waved goodbye to its conveyor belt of 6ft willowy “Angels” and welcomed on board a more inclusive team, including trans model Valentina Sampaio, British plus-size activist Paloma Elsesser and US footballer Megan Rapinoe.
The rebranding follows a decline in sales, the cancellation of its annual fashion show, criticism over a lack of diversity and head office controversies, from transphobia to sexual harassment.
When L Brands, Victoria’s Secret parent company, axed the iconic televised catwak in 2019, it came with an announcement that it would “rethink the traditional fashion show” and “evolve and change to grow”.
Now, 44 years after it launched, Victoria’s Secret has finally decided to break with its standard marketing strategy and recruited the diverse group of women it is calling the VS Collective.
It says they will “shape the future of the brand”. And instead of posing in smalls, the seven stars will be voicing their opinions on a podcast. Siobhan O’Connor takes a look at the newbies.
Valentina Sampaio
Flying the flag for the LGBTQ+ community, the 24-year-old Brazilian became Victoria Secret’s first transgender model in 2019.
On becoming one of its new Brand Advisers, Valentina said: “Being a trans woman often means facing closed doors to people’s hearts.
“As a powerful global platform, Victoria’s Secret is committed to opening these doors for trans women like me, by celebrating, uplifting and advocating for all women.”
Eileen Gu
At 17, world champion freestyle skier Eileen is the youngest of the VS Collective, but already has a wealth of experience on and off the catwalk.
Born to an American father and Chinese mother, she made history earlier this year at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, where she became the first female rookie to earn a medal in all three of her events.
Eileen, who is due to compete for China in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has already modelled for the Tiffany & Co and Vogue.
Adut Akech
Born in South Sudan, Adut moved to Australia aged six with her mother and siblings as refugees.
She signed with Saint Laurent for its SS17 show at just 17 years old, making her fashion week runway debut.
Now 21, with campaigns for Fendi, Moschino and Versace under her belt, Adut says: “I can’t wait to work alongside them to remind, encourage and support all women that they can and should dream big and always reach for the stars.”
Priyanka Chopra
As one of India’s highest-paid actresses and the wife of boyband star Nick Jonas, Priyanka has the biggest following of the VS Collective.
Also a film producer and entrepreneur, the 38-year-old, whose varied CV includes winning Miss World 2000, vows to use her new role to “develop future collections that are inclusive of all people.”
But Priyanka says she is “most excited over attracting new customers and for those who have always been a customer of Victoria’s Secret to feel represented and like they belong.”
Paloma Elsesser
Born in London, Paloma has an African-American mother and Chilean-Swiss father. She is one of the few size-14 models to have appeared on the cover of Vogue.
Hired for Victoria Secret’s Swim Spring 2021 collection, the shots of the curvy 29-year-old were praised by fans.
Paloma plans to use her new ambassador role to advocate for the brand’s sizing to go up to 5XL, instead of the current XXL.
She said: “I didn’t start modelling to just do all the cool stuff, I did it to change the world.”
Amanda De Cadenet
British journalist and photographer Amanda came to fame on the raucous late-night chat show The Word in the Nineties.
Now the face of prime-time US interview series The Conversation, 49-year-old Amanda is the perfect candidate to modernise the Victoria’s Secret tribe.
Five years ago she launched Girlgaze, a jobs platform for female and non-binary Gen Z creatives.
She has said it is “committed to telling the stories from the perspective of people who have been marginalised and whose stories have not been valued.”
Megan Rapinoe
Among the trailblazers is Megan, one of the most outspoken progressive voices in American sport.
The pink-haired footballer is ready to kick VS into shape after bluntly claiming the brand was “patriarchal, sexist, viewing not just what it meant to be sexy but what the clothes were trying to accomplish through a male lens and through what men desired.
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"And it was very much marketed toward younger women.”
Olympian Megan, 35, said this message had been “really harmful”.
BRING ON WOBBLY BELLIES
By Lynsey Clarke
IT might be three or so decades too late, but Victoria’s Secret has finally realised that its model offering was, quite frankly, pants.
Supermodels might look amazing in embellished push-up bras and cut-out thongs at the brand’s annual show but what us women really want to see is how the underwear will look on us – with our fried-egg boobs, flat bum or wobbly belly.
The problem with Victoria’s Secret has always been that it’s about the male gaze.
The annual catwalk’s models were called Angels, and the star of the show would get to wear its Fantasy Bra. But the show was quite clearly a man’s fantasy.
I certainly don’t know many women who dream to walk around in thigh-high latex stilettos and bondage-style peekaboo pants.
Former Angels, who include Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima and Erin Heatherton, were said to undergo “body inspections”, go on “starvation diets”, live off powdered egg protein and exercise six times a week in order to fit the “fantasy” of a 24in waist, or less.
Until now, anyone who didn’t fit the mould wouldn’t get a look in.
Even Gigi Hadid, who has appeared on the cover of Vogue 35 times, got turned down after auditioning for the show in 2014, before eventually earning her wings two years later.
But thankfully, Victoria’s Secret has taken a long, hard look at itself, in part due to CMO Ed Razek’s remark in 2018 that transgender or plus-size models were not used on its catwalk “because the show is a fantasy”.
But it is the decline in sales, thanks to the huge success of Rihanna’s inclusive Savage x Fenty lingerie, that has really forced the change.
Launched in 2018, the brand’s bras go up to size 46G and knickers to 4XL, and Rihanna has included heavily pregnant, transgender and plus-size models in her catwalks.
This is in huge contrast to a Victoria’s Secret campaign just seven years ago, where the words “The Perfect Body” were emblazoned across a poster of ten gym-honed, identikit models. It was slammed at the time for promoting unrealistic standards of beauty.
While blatantly ripping off Rihanna’s successful marketing campaign to use a diverse range of brand advisers that can speak for everyone not the few, at least Victoria’s Secret is making an effort.
All we need now is for other brands such as Victoria Beckham, Gucci and YSL to follow suit.
It’s 2021, we want to see what clobber looks like on, fat rolls and all.