It's been a turbulent couple of years for Victoria's Secret, the iconic lingerie and fashion brand that gave us the angels, dozens of supermodels and the annual Victoria Secret fashion show. Now, the brand is getting a shake up, on the back of numerous high-profile PR disasters.
The rebrand will see the company split into two new branches, the VS Collective and the Victoria's Secret Global Fund for Women's Cancers.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Womens' football star Megan Rapinoe and model Adut Akeech are among the women representatives that will make up the VS Collective, "an ever-growing group of accomplished women who share a common passion to drive positive change", the company says.
According to a press release, the Collective will aim to "show up for women" "through a series of collaborations, business partnerships and cause-related initiatives".
The Collective will also include journalist Amanda de Cadenet, World Champion Free Skier Eileen Gu, body positivity advocate Paloma Elsesser and model Valentina Sampaio.
The Victoria's Secret Global Fund for Women's Cancers, meanwhile, will donate "at least $5 million annually to examine and address racial and gender inequities and unlock new innovations that improve cancer outcomes for all women".
Speaking about the move, Rapinoe said that she felt "on the outside looking in with brands in the beauty and fashion industry", adding that she's "thrilled to be creating a space that sees the true spectrum of ALL women". Chopra said that "I am most excited for new customers and for those who have always been a customer of Victoria's Secret to feel represented and like they belong".
In recent years, there had been waves of criticism leveled at the company and its chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, over the years for perpetuating a standard of beauty and femininity that many feel to be out of date. He has since stepped down.
In 2018, Razek received particular criticism for saying he would not hire transgender models, saying to Vogue that while the company had "considered" hiring a transgender model for its annual runway show, in the end, they chose not to as "the show is a fantasy".
He added that he felt the company did not need to cast models who were "transsexuals", using a term that is widely dismissed as one with negative associations. While he apologised for his statements after, it opened a deluge of criticism towards the brand. In November 2019, the Victoria Secret fashion show was cancelled.
