A few weeks before this year’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show, the company’s so-called Angels — a group of supermodels who are featured in ads for the lingerie brand — are getting their makeup done backstage. The models are surrounded by hordes of photographers and their entourages, but they seem calm and composed. In a time when the lingerie company has been criticised for its hyper-sexualized image, these women have spent the past couple of years trying to revamp the business model in order to remain relevant and appeal to younger consumers.
During the process, the company has overhauled its entire product line, added new beauty products and launched a brand-new clothing collection called VS X LUXE. They have also attempted to re-frame how they think about women, shifting away from the traditional idea of beauty, which has been defined as white, worked-out and boob-centric, in favor of a more diverse view.
The most recent attempt to shift how the company talks about women was a documentary that debuted last year. Known as VS The Tour, this film featured seven of the company’s “ambassadors,” including soccer player Megan Rapinoe and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The goal of this new campaign was to showcase a more diverse set of women who can speak to a range of topics and issues that affect all kinds of women around the world.
But the effort to make the lingerie business more appealing to the younger generation has not translated into increased sales, with the company’s revenue declining by almost two percent in 2023. In the second quarter of this year, the company reported a drop in sales for the first time ever. In a call with analysts, CEO Ed Razek admitted that “We are not executing as well as we could.”
Despite the financial challenges, Razek remained optimistic about the future of the company and the annual fashion show. He said the company was focusing on a few key growth areas, such as its online sales and the upcoming launch of a PINK line for teenage girls. He also said that the company was working on a three-part Hulu documentary series that would dive into Wexner’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which had been a major source of controversy for the brand in the past.
The annual fashion show will take place this Tuesday night and will be broadcast on the VS YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels. The “pink carpet” event is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. ET, while the actual runway show begins at 7 p.m. The show will be hosted by Tyra Banks, who retired as a Victoria’s Secret Angel in 2005. Other models who will walk the runway include Gigi Hadid, Mayowa Nicholas, Jasmine Tookes, Barbara Palvin and Adriana Lima. This year, the company is attempting to diversify its look by casting curvy models like Paloma Elsesser and Devyn Garcia for the first time in the history of the show.