Victoria’s Secret Angels Have Been Replaced By a New "VS Collective”
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
“Hearst Magazines and Verizon Media may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.”
On Wednesday, Victoria’s Secret announced a new “VS Collective” in a long overdue effort to rebrand and leave behind its era of sexy fashion shows, bejeweled fantasy bras, and Angels (yep, the Angels are no more). The move is likely a way to distance the lingerie retailer from its controversies, which have piled up over the last few years, including its owner Leslie Wexner’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the harassment claims against its former top executive Ed Razek, and callouts over the lack of diversity both inside the company and in regards to casting models.
Razek departed in 2019 and Wexner stepped down as CEO of parent company L Brands in 2020, and now new leadership is taking on the challenge of turning around the label—and its public perception. The new “VS Collective” representatives include soccer star Megan Rapinoe; actress and businesswoman Priyanka Chopra; models Paloma Elsesser, Adut Akech, and Valentina Sampaio; professional skier Eileen Gu; and advocate Amanda de Cadenet.
In a press release, the collective is described as “an ever-growing group of accomplished women who share a common passion to drive positive change.” It also stated, “Through social, cultural, and business relationships, the VS Collective will work to create new associate programs, revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, and rally support for causes vital to women.”
Victoria’s Secret is hoping it conveys empowerment and inclusivity with this initiative, and Martin Waters, the newly appointed chief executive of the brand, acknowledged its past mistakes in an interview with the New York Times. “When the world was changing, we were too slow to respond,” he said. “We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.” While he is yet another male CEO at a company that caters to women, the board is now occupied by almost all women. (Waters is the only man on the seven-member board.)
Reactions to the rebrand so far have been mixed. Some customers on Victoria’s Secret’s Instagram posts have voiced disappointment over the new direction. “Bring back the Angels!!! We don’t need more woke companies,” one user wrote. On Twitter, others have slammed the VS Collective representatives, coming particularly for Megan Rapinoe.
According to Victoria’s Secret, women should aspire to look like/look up to Megan Rapinoe, not Adriana Lima. pic.twitter.com/isYiu2OEsk
— sameera khan (@SameeraKhan) June 17, 2021
But! Many showed support for the soccer champion and Olympic gold medalist.
There are people who don’t like Megan Rapinoe?! Kudos to Victoria’s Secret. Megan Rapinoe slander will not be tolerated. No one wants to look like her? PLEASE, look at her. Everyone loves Megan Rapinoe.
Plus, she’s engaged to Sue Bird. pic.twitter.com/3HjwO8Gyuc— Mychal (@mychal3ts) June 17, 2021
Well done Victoria's Secret, Megan Rapinoe is badass.
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) June 17, 2021
Men have also needlessly inserted themselves into the discussion with moronic tweets like these:
Some of the dumbest people run the most powerful companies on earth and it’s hilarious watching them destroy themselves.
Megan Rapinoe?? Nobody likes feminists. Nobody. Even other feminists hate feminists. They’re the least appealing people on the planet. https://t.co/4C2i7z2mMx— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) June 16, 2021
All of the ugly chicks agreeing with Victoria's Secret's new wokeness were the ones who didn't shop there because no one wanted to see them undressed.
Dumbest. Brand. Strategy. Ever.— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) June 17, 2021
Although users were quick to call them out and remind them that the lingerie isn’t for them, tyvm.
Literally every guy commenting on this to insult Megan Rapinoe is only further proving the need for this rebrand. Unless you wear bras, stay in your lane, my dude. https://t.co/A5T85n9xt0 pic.twitter.com/wE3hdeqJQU
— Kelley (@pbandkcg) June 16, 2021
Tonight just keeps getting better. Victoria's Secret is rebranding and a lot of straight men have super important opinions about it.
— Beau of The Fifth Column (@BeauTFC) June 17, 2021
Watching a bunch of straight white dudes lose their shit over Megan Rapinoe becoming a Victoria's Secret brand ambassador. pic.twitter.com/xHY2Hi8txb
— Nicolette NuVogue (@NikkiNuVogue) June 16, 2021
In an interview with the NYT, Rapinoe acknowledged what she called the brand’s “patriarchal, sexist” and “harmful” past but said the new leadership convinced her to join as an ambassador to help steer it in a positive direction. Paloma Elsesser, a plus-size model, said in the same interview that she wants to use her role to increase the brand’s product sizing. “I didn’t start modeling to just do all the cool stuff; I did it to change the world,” she said. “With platforms like VS, where you enter the living rooms of all people, that’s where you make radical change.”
Now that VS has a new roster of representatives and is embarking on an entirely different marketing strategy, word's still out on whether it will translate to more sales—or, more importantly, if customers will buy into the updated messaging.
You Might Also Like