Lingerie Company Victoria’s Secret is replacing its models (Victoria’s angels) with seven high-profile women in an attempt to rebrand its image. The move is the biggest rebrand in the company’s history, throwing away its hypersexualised ‘angel’ image in favour of partnering with women who are known for their advocacy in gender equality, LGBTQ+ issues and body positivity.
US soccer star Megan Rapinoe, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, 17-year-old Chinese American skier Eileen Gu, inclusivity advocate and model Paloma Elsesser, transgender model Valentina Sampaio, photographer and founder of #Girlgaze Amanda De Cadenet and south Sudanese model and refugee Adut Akech will be the new ambassadors for the company.
The seven women chosen as figureheads for the brand will be known as the VS Collective, and will work with the company on “collaborations, business partnerships and cause-related initiatives”.
The rebrand come less than two years after Victoria’s Secret had to cancel its iconic fashion show after facing criticisms that it objectified women for the male gaze, had a misogynistic corporate culture and revelations about its owner’s connection to sex offender Jeffery Epstein.
In 2013 Victoria’s Secret fashion show drew 9.7 million viewers however by 2018 the numbers came down to just 9.7 million viewers. That was after Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer for L Brands – Victoria’s Secret’s parent company – said he didn’t think the annual fashion show should feature “transsexuals”, an offensive and outdated term.
In an interview with The New York Times, Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters said, “When the world was changing, we were too slow to respond. We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.”
