Victoria’s Secret, the infamous lingerie brand, synonymous with the words ‘sexy’ and ‘desirable’ is rebranding itself in an attempt to become much more inclusive and diverse with current times. The brand is letting go of its Victoria’s Secret Angels and has signed a new roster of individuals who will now be representing the brand.
With the VS Collective, the brand aims to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, new internal associate programs and rally support for causes vital to women through their association with women who come from unique backgrounds and represent their target audience more accurately.
This new roster includes famed Indian actress, Priyanka Chopra amongst others. 6 individuals together form the VS Collective and include American soccer star Megan Rapinoe, photographer and Los Angeles-based media personality Amanda de Cadenet, Brazilian transgender model Valentina Sampaio, 17-year-old Chinese American freestyle skier, Eileen Gu, 29-year-old biracial model and inclusivity advocate Paloma Elsesser and South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech. This initiative comes with the intention of redefining what ‘sexy’ means, distinguishing itself from what the brand has currently portrayed it to be in front of the masses.
In 2019, the brand’s much-acclaimed fashion show was also abandoned owing to the negative response that it garnered from the audience. A globally televised event, the fashion show had models cat-walking down the ramp in barely-there lingerie studded with gems, feathers and lace. This raised objections of the brand essentially objectifying women and enumerating the brand to be one that embodies the male fantasy.
“When the world was changing, we were too slow to respond,” said Chief Executive Martin Waters to The New York Times. “We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.” The brand intends on getting the fashion show back in 2022 however in an entirely different format.
This shift will allow the brand to imbibe diversity and inclusivity in what they portray to their audience at large. It will give them the space to shift their narrative from being a brand that focuses on what a woman seeks in her undergarments as opposed to the earlier one which did not incorporate the same in a very vehement manner. The brand has been overshadowed by a lot many other companies which have been very much at the forefront in embracing bodily and ethnic diversity and this move will allow Victoria’s Secret to shift their brand’s perspective and mould it in that direction.
