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The VS Collective is set to help shape the future of the brand, but will the modern consumer buy the brand’s overhaul?
It’s 2021, and Victoria’s Secret is finally retiring its notorious Angels. Saying goodbye to supermodels who strut the famous VS runway in sparkly bombshell lingerie, wings and sky-high heels, the brand is undergoing a massive rebrand with the inclusion of the VS Collective, a new partnership program that will help “shape the future of Victoria’s Secret.”
This could be the start of a new era for Victoria’s Secret where activism and accomplishment become the new faces of the brand, rather than a very specific physique. According to the brand’s Instagram post, the founding members selected to join the VS Collective campaign are South Sudanese refugee, mental health advocate and model Adut Akech; British journalist, photographer and activist Amanda de Cadenet; world champion free skier and women’s sports advocate Eileen Gu; LGBTQIA+ activist, pay equity crusader and pro soccer player, Megan Rapinoe; body advocate and community creator Paloma Elsesser; actor, producer and entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra Jonas; and LGBTQIA+ activist and model Valentina Sampaio, who is also the first transgender ever to be featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
In the late ‘90s and the 2000s, Victoria’s Secret had an influential role in defining “sexy” for the era, but the image they have established with their VS Angels is long past their best before date. The brand has faced a lot of criticism for lacking realism of women and their bodies and ignoring the true spectrum of its customers. In 2018, the criticism gained so much traction and support, the annual fashion show in 2019 was cancelled.
The brains behind Victoria’s Secret Angels and company’s annual fashion show was Ed Razek, one of the most influential people in the modelling industry in the early 2000s and a longtime marketing chief at Victoria’s Secret parent company, L Brands. According to the New York Times, Razek created a toxic culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment at Victoria’s Secret. He stepped down in August 2019 after his controversial stance on featuring transgender and plus-size models didn’t land as he probably hoped it would on the public.
Struggling to restore its broken brand image, the VS Collective may finally be the first step in the right direction for Victoria’s Secret. The brand is rolling out a new partnership with designer and breast cancer advocate Stella McCartney to educate women across the world during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. They have also launched a new charitable initiative, the VS Global Fund for Women’s Cancers to boost cancer research, giving $5 million annually to invest in cancer research. Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Megan Rapinoe will also be working on VS Collective’s new product lines, which the company is planning to debut next spring. As for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, it is predicted that it will make a comeback with a whole new look in 2022.
Only time will tell if all the new changes under the VS Collective will succeed in its goals of offering attractive authenticity and inclusivity.
