Victoria’s Secret fans slam woke lingerie brand’s plans to use ‘real’ women – & they all have the same complaint
FOR two decades the Victoria’s Secret fashion show was the sexiest event in the showbiz calendar.
It propelled models including Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Gisele Bundchen to catwalk superstardom.
But then in 2019 the lingerie brand cancelled its once-beloved show, which was televised annually in the States, due to low viewing figures.
It said: “We think it’s important to evolve the marketing of Victoria’s Secret. We’re figuring out how to advance the positioning of the brand and best communicate that to customers.”
Then in 2021 the catwalk show’s stars themselves, known as Angels, were ditched in favour of The Collective, a more diverse group of women, including plus-size pin-ups, sports stars and transgender models.
The move was widely celebrated at the time, with calls for more inclusion across the board at the once hugely profitable company.
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However, this week Victoria’s Secret has come under fire from loyal customers for going “too far”, after it announced what seems to be a revival of its fashion show — a world tour billed as a “global fashion event featuring a new generation of women”.
And that new generation features The Collective — women such as British presenter-turned-photographer Amanda De Cadenet and American soccer player Megan Rapinoe.
Ali Tate Cutler has also been brought on board as the brand’s first plus-size model, along with its first transgender star, Valentina Sampaio.
In a statement to its 75million followers on Instagram, Victoria’s Secret said: “Introducing the VS20, a group of innovative creatives from around the world who represent four fashion curations from Bogota, Lagos, London and Tokyo.
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‘It wants to be something to everyone. It’s lost its nostalgia’
“We’re proud to pioneer an event that reveals the artistic process and personal narratives of these dynamic artistic forces.
“Hailing from the fashion, film, design, music and visual fields, they have the creative freedom to conceptualize, produce and stage a collection that is all their own.”
But fans rounded on the proposed tour, with many arguing that Victoria’s Secret had lost its appeal by completely stripping the brand of its originality.
Follower Judi Castil commented beneath the posting: “This is why you are losing stores and customers! Only wore VS for 20 years! Now I’ll go to Asda.”
Another, Mariya Karageorgieva, said: “It’s not VS any more, sorry. The real Victoria’s Secret used to be a glamour runway with the Angels only on it.
“We see real women all over the world, every minute of our lives. I am one of them now. I wanted to see the dream, the fantasy. Not the real world.”
She added: “You could have made a parallel VS brand like there is Pink, for the real women and keep the Fantasy brand (Bejewelled lingerie created just for the Angels to model on the catwalk). We miss that!”
Within a few hours hundreds more followers joined in.
One wrote: “I loved VS Angels. I watched the show and just admired these supermodels, knowing very well they are the one per cent.
“Just because they looked like that, didn’t mean I felt any less beautiful, even as a kid.
“If anything it motivated me to look the best I could for myself.
“I would wait for the catalogues of the clothing and swimsuits and I felt I channelled my own VS Angel when I would wear the stuff.
“The advertisements now I feel have gone in such the opposite direction that you lost what Victoria’s Secret was always about.
“It was a brand that was aspirational . . . to a brand now where you want to be something to everyone. It lost its nostalgia.”
The Collective also includes Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who said when it was launched: “I remember having discussions about how I never saw someone who looked like me. I thought it would be really amazing to shift the view.”
British plus-size model Paloma Elsesser also joined, as did Brazilian model Sofia Jirau — the brand’s first star with Down’s syndrome — and another transgender model, Emira D’Spain.
But Instagrammer Jasper attacked Victoria’s Secret’s planned tour, writing: “I wish more companies would stand up for themselves and not be worried about 12 to 16-year-old TikTok kids who are offended by any and everything.”
Another wrote: “I get diversity . . . but this is like woke hipsters. I want the [original] models back. This is not VS. These look like LGBTQ+ woke activists.”
Victoria’s Secret has yet to announce the full details of the tour.
When asked if the runway show would return, the company cryptically told one fan: “We can’t wait to share more later this year.”
But anyone expecting a return to the era of the Angels looks set to be disappointed, as although the firm teased that the show would return, it insisted it would “reinforce our commitment to championing women’s voices and their unique perspectives.”
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As for The Collective, it isn’t just fans of the brand who have been critical, with rapper Lizzo claiming Victoria’s Secret was only diversifying its choice of models for profit.
She called it a win for “inclusivity for inclusivity’s sake”, adding: “If brands start doing this because they’ve had a backlash, what happens when trends change again?”
An epic own goal
VICTORIA’S Secret has scored one hell of an own goal, writes Ellie Henman.
Its desperation to become completely inclusive has actually seen it exclude what really made it stand out in the first place.
The Victoria’s Secret Angels were the embodiment of what was never going to be achievable for most mere mortals.
But when you bought the underwear they were wearing on the catwalk, you forked out with the fantasy that you too would look that good.
If I wanted to see a fat bird in a bikini, I’d look at my own holiday snaps.