The lingerie company that once boasted “Angels Across America” fashion shows is trying to reverse years of sales decline by embracing diversity and a more inclusive brand image. Its new marketing campaign features plus-size models wearing its newest pieces, as well as headless mannequins in different body shapes. The company also revamped its annual fashion show with a new production that showcases the designers’ looks alongside diverse women, including one model who has vitiligo, an autoimmune skin condition. The show, which debuted Wednesday night on Prime Video, is part fashion event and part documentary-style film featuring 20 global creatives.
The company owes much of its current image to the late Roy Raymond, who named his business after Victorian England and envisioned a women’s underwear line that was refined and elegant. In the 1970s, the chain became a retail success, expanding into stores and publishing its world-famous catalog. The company was bought by mall-retail pioneer Wexner in 1982, but he largely kept the Victorian aesthetics alive and focused on a fantasy vision of femininity, which included an annual fashion show and its requisite supermodels.
By the ’90s, Victoria’s Secret had become synonymous with sexiness. Its famous bralettes were layered and printed with everything from stars and snowflakes to flowers and polka dots. The annual fashion show reworked classic holiday themes into sexualized fantasies of female bodies, with iconic models such as Naomi Campbell and Gisele Bundchen showcasing its latest creations.
But after the #MeToo era brought awareness to sexual harassment and abuse, the sexy spectacle of Victoria’s Secret started to look dated. Even the brand’s “Angels”—which have consisted of some of the most prominent models of their respective eras, such as Adriana Lima, Bella Hadid, and Gisele Bündchen—looked a little too old for their roles, and many young women saw the promotion as a form of sexual objectification.
The rebranding of the company is a welcome change, though it’s not nearly enough. Despite pushing a more inclusive message, Victoria’s Secret is still not catering to the vast majority of its customer base. A study found that just 7 percent of women are happy with the fit and quality of their Victoria’s Secret lingerie. And that’s despite the fact that the brand is working to make its clothing more accessible by offering bra sizes up to a DDD and opening a handful of outlets that offer plus-size merchandise.
Until Victoria’s Secret makes its messages more relevant to the majority of its target audience, it will continue to lose customers. And the brand is not alone in its struggle: Other retailers that focus on a narrowly defined notion of beauty are also struggling to meet the needs of their female customers. In a climate that ranges from the darklands of Internet pornography to mainstream shows such as Euphoria, the industry is evolving and today’s consumers want to feel represented and heard by brands that they purchase from. That means whether they’re buying skimpy panties or lab-grown diamonds.