The lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret is trying to reboot itself. After years of scandals and a #MeToo backlash, the company jettisoned its signature uber-sexy fashion shows with supermodel “Angels” in favor of a more inclusive vision. The first show under the new direction aired Tuesday, and while the company strove for a sense of empowerment, it also managed to be a bit tone-deaf.
The company originally launched as a men’s store, in a style reminiscent of the Victorian boudoir. The original stores were draped in white and decorated with chandeliers, and the brand was designed to appeal to men who wanted to buy sexy underwear for their wives or girlfriends. The company’s name is a reference to this origin story, and the name reflects the idea that the product is a secret of love.
But the company soon found itself caught in a whirlwind of controversy. In the late 1990s, it became ubiquitous in American malls with its popular pushup bras and pushed the boundaries of femininity with barely-covered models in catalogs and campaigns. Its annual fashion show was broadcast to millions of viewers, and supermodel Angels like Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Adriana Lima strutted down the runway each year in bejeweled fantasy bras.
But in the 2000s, the company began to fall out of favor with a changing culture and declining sales. The sexy image began to look dated, and women began to see the products as unflattering and overrated. In addition, the company was criticized for exploiting the models and paying them extremely low wages.
In 2022, Victoria’s Secret announced it was retiring the iconic Angels and embracing a more inclusive image. The company was already facing a number of challenges at that time, including a backlash against its punishing size standards, accusations of misogyny and racism from former Angels, the discovery of the CEO’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and an underwhelming fashion show performance by the rebranded model lineup.
For the 2020 event, Victoria’s Secret hired a new creative director and changed its model casting process to include more curve models. The company also partnered with plus-size fashion bloggers and social media influencers to promote the show.
But the change wasn’t enough to reverse the company’s decline. A Vogue interview by then-president Ed Razek insulting transgender women sparked public outrage, and the company was tripped up by allegations of misogyny in its own corporate culture.
By 2019, it was clear that the brand needed a complete overhaul. But it was too late to save the empire. Ultimately, the company’s attempts to embrace a more inclusive message were too tone-deaf and were met with fierce resistance from fans, who boycotted the show in droves. In the end, the rebrand was a major failure. But what can we learn from this failure?