Victoria's Secret trades its "angels" for activists

Victoria's Secret to close 250 stores 0:40

(CNN) -

Less than two years after Victoria's Secret canceled its annual star-studded fashion show, known for its runway looks that combined lingerie with huge wings, the brand is permanently retiring its supermodels called "angels."

And to replace them comes a new group of seven ambassadors, called the "VS Collective," who are known for their advocacy work on gender equality and body positivity, and who represent a broader range of body types and sexual identities. of genre.

The collective, which includes soccer player Megan Rapinoe, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser, will work on new product lines and multimedia content, in addition to supporting women's causes for the company, according to a statement. press.

"This is a dramatic change for our brand, and it is a change that we embrace from our core," Victoria's Secret CEO Martin Waters said in a statement.

Waters was hyped in February when Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands tried to sell her to a private equity firm in a $ 525 million deal that ultimately fell through.

(Victoria's Secret now has plans to become its own publicly traded company.)

On Wednesday, Waters told The New York Times that he no longer sees angels "as culturally relevant."

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The sea change comes after years of criticism that Victoria's Secret was promoting outdated ideas of femininity and that its collections were made for a limited range of body types. According to Women's Wear Daily, the brand had a 19% market share in the US women's intimate apparel space as of December 2020, up from 32% in 2015. Last year, L Brands announced that it would close a quarter of Victoria's Secret stores. Then they closed more followed earlier this year.

"Especially in the last five years, public criticism of Victoria's Secret's narrow and exclusive beauty ideals has accumulated and its sales began to decline," said Chantal Fernández, senior correspondent for the trade publication The Business of Fashion, for email.

"The rebrand announced this week is the first real meaningful indication of how VS is trying to advance its marketing."

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