Wexner bought Victoria’s Secret in 1982 and turned it into a phenomenon that helped shape society’s view of female sexuality and beauty ideals. Its next closest competitor is Hanesbrands, with a 16 percent share.įounded in 1977 as a store where men could feel comfortable shopping for lingerie, even the name referred to male fantasies of prim Victorian ladies who became naughty in the boudoir. women’s underwear market dropped to 21 percent last year from 32 percent in 2015, according to Euromonitor International, it is still a powerhouse. Victoria’s Secret’s cultural influence is a product of its industry standing. Will women buy it? An upcoming spinoff, more than $5 billion in annual sales, and 32,000 jobs in a global retail network that includes roughly 1,400 stores are riding on the answer. Now, with that kind of imagery out of step with the broader culture and Victoria’s Secret facing increased competition and internal turmoil, the company wants to become, its chief executive said, a leading global “advocate” for female empowerment. For decades, Victoria’s Secret’s scantily clad supermodels with Jessica Rabbit curves epitomized a certain widely accepted stereotype of femininity. They will be spearheading what may be the most extreme and unabashed attempt at a brand turnaround in recent memory: an effort to redefine the version of “sexy” that Victoria’s Secret represents (and sells) to the masses. They include Megan Rapinoe, the 35-year-old pink-haired soccer star and gender equity campaigner Eileen Gu, a 17-year-old Chinese American freestyle skier and soon-to-be Olympian the 29-year-old biracial model and inclusivity advocate Paloma Elsesser, who was the rare size 14 woman on the cover of Vogue and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, a 38-year-old Indian actor and tech investor. In their place are seven women famous for their achievements and not their proportions. The “Fantasy Bra,” dangling real diamonds and other gems, is no more. Their wings, fluttery confections of rhinestones and feathers that could weigh almost 30 pounds, are gathering dust in storage. The Victoria’s Secret Angels, those avatars of Barbie bodies and playboy reverie, are gone.
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