Within the early 2000s, Victoria’s Secret style reveals oozed opulence and exclusivity—that includes Fantasy Bras bedazzled with 1000’s of diamonds value as much as $15 million, extravagant wings that usually doubled fashions’ heights, and a troupe of skinny supermodels blowing kisses to star-studded crowds.
The annual style present was designed to be aspirational, unattainable. In 2018, then-CMO Ed Razek infamously advised Vogue that together with plus-sized and transgender fashions would destroy the “fantasy” of the lingerie present, sparking boycott calls. The model in a short time fell out of favour for holding onto outdated beliefs.
Victoria’s Secret’s issues didn’t finish there. Particulars emerged about Razek being repeatedly accused of inappropriate conduct. The corporate additionally had connections with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, with a New York Instancesarticle in 2019 detailing how Epstein sexually assaulted fashions in lodge rooms.
Dealing with rising scrutiny, Victoria’s Secret Angels retired their wings in 2018 for a six-year hiatus.
That was till Victoria’s Secret hosted its comeback 2024 present on Tuesday, that includes all-women performers together with Cher and Tyla, two transgender fashions and shoppable lingerie for customers (that meant no $15 million fantasy bra). Veteran Victoria’s Secret Angels Adriana Lima and Tyra Banks walked alongside a contemporary crop of fashions of assorted ages, races, sexualities and sizes.
But whereas this yr’s present was essentially the most various but, it sparked criticism on-line for lacking the mark, with PR specialists describing the efforts as “tokenistic,” “performative” and “muddled,” in conversations with Marketing campaign US. Specialists claimed the model’s “performative” advertising is clear to customers.
“Victoria’s Secret remains to be dwelling in a slender lane of what magnificence is,” stated Katie Hankinson, Yonder Consulting’s US managing director. “It’s laborious for the present and advertising to not seem performative when the model hasn’t performed the deep work of realizing themselves and what they stand for.”
Hankinson added that Victoria’s Secret’s controversies “run a lot deeper than pores and skin deep, and popping out with a glitzy present like nothing occurred is papering over the cracks.”
Ashley Graham and the present’s different plus-sized fashions appeared “extra lined” than non plus-sized fashions, stated Keisha Townsend Taitt, GSD&M’s chief inclusion officer.
“It simply pushed the trope that if in case you have rolls, it’s solely acceptable to be in a one-piece that’s protecting up,” Townsend Taitt stated. “In the meantime, Savage X Fenty had pregnant ladies in lingerie pushing confidence and self value.”
Within the wake of Victoria’s Secret’s scandals and rising competitors from rising lingerie manufacturers like Savage X Fenty, Aerie and Skims, the model’s yearly web gross sales have trended downward since 2018. Victoria’s Secret’s 2023 web gross sales have been $6.2 billion, a 26% drop from $7.8 billion throughout 2016, one of many model’s peak years.
Victoria’s Secret is “taking from competing manufacturers’ playbooks” as an alternative of growing an impactful model picture, Townsend Taitt stated. She famous how Victoria’s Secret launched an adaptive line for customers with disabilities, however solely after Skims launched an identical line the yr prior. Hankinson agreed that Victoria’s Secret’s branding “must be the reality, not the development.”
“Victoria’s actual secret is that she would not know herself,” Hankinson defined. “The model is sort of a youthful woman who must develop up and determine who she actually is.”
Victoria’s Secret reps didn’t reply to inquiries in search of remark.
By attempting to please all customers—millennials who wished the nostalgia of seeing unique Victoria’s Secret angels, and GenZers pushing for extra various reveals—the outcome was an unclear model id, Townsend Taitt stated, describing it as a present that “tried to do every part and did nothing.”
Nonetheless, Townsend Taitt credited Victoria’s Secret for “rising age range in a related means” by bringing the unique Angels again, and stated “inclusivity comes with progress, not perfection.”
Julie Oxberry, Family’s group CEO, stated Victoria’s Secret “did not leverage the second they took to have a look at their model and are available again with one thing significant. Nonetheless, she famous that Victoria’s Secret’s model can enhance if it “provides its advertising group some wings” to create a extra genuine and modern id.
“It’s all about enjoyable and glitz and glam, however they will have that and nonetheless have one thing artistic and emotionally and visually significant, ” Oxberry stated.
