June 17, 2021
Victoria's Secret is going woke.
No, not in the most obvious sense. What it's doing is scrapping its long-built brand of sexy underwear on super-thin supermodels — and exchanging it for underwear displayed on fat models, transgender models, lesbian models, tattooed models, people whose taste and presentation in "sexy" is not quite the same as it was in the past, expecting the public to buy it, like it or not. They're going virtuous, they're going inclusive...
According to the New York Times:
What could be behind it, this spectacular U-turn?
Yes, it is a trend in fashion, definitely a trend with the youth, so, arguably, it's safe to say the company is following the herd and keeping up with the trends to try to make money. Just take a look at the kind of models seen on Uniqlo, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bonobos, Savage x Fenty, and other mall fixtures, as well as Dove soap, and in trendy catalogues such as Poetry, North Face, Duluth, or Nike, not to mention high fashion. It's not quite the wholesome could-care-less outdoorsy look of Land's End, L.L. Bean, or Orvis. It's definitely an androgynous glamour look, contrived as heck, and in most cases openly woke and scolding.
This is one thing if you're the best in the business at that. It's probably quite another if you've cultivated a huge business based on another kind of customer, someone who wants the classically sexy look of Victoria's Secret, often to catch a man.
According to the Times:
And already they aren't very good at it. Victoria's Secret's new top model, Meghan Rapinoe, a lesbian soccer star who's done a hell of a lot of modeling elsewhere and seems to like it better than soccer, is their new face and corporate consultant on wokester content. According to W magazine, Rapinoe said:
According to Sarah Hoyt of Instapundit, the whole thing looks like a loser. Getting woke is always a formula for going broke, as we all know, but in this case, the V.S. customer base is dispensed with altogether in favor of another one. Not exactly a formula for growth, actually:
Victoria's Secret goes woke
By Monica ShowalterVictoria's Secret is going woke.
No, not in the most obvious sense. What it's doing is scrapping its long-built brand of sexy underwear on super-thin supermodels — and exchanging it for underwear displayed on fat models, transgender models, lesbian models, tattooed models, people whose taste and presentation in "sexy" is not quite the same as it was in the past, expecting the public to buy it, like it or not. They're going virtuous, they're going inclusive...
According to the New York Times:
Oh, really? As recently as 2018, they resisted that. There was a groveling apology. Now they're going all in.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. For decades, Victoria's Secret's scantily clad supermodels with Jessica Rabbit curves epitomized a certain widely accepted stereotype of femininity. 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.
What could be behind it, this spectacular U-turn?
Yes, it is a trend in fashion, definitely a trend with the youth, so, arguably, it's safe to say the company is following the herd and keeping up with the trends to try to make money. Just take a look at the kind of models seen on Uniqlo, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bonobos, Savage x Fenty, and other mall fixtures, as well as Dove soap, and in trendy catalogues such as Poetry, North Face, Duluth, or Nike, not to mention high fashion. It's not quite the wholesome could-care-less outdoorsy look of Land's End, L.L. Bean, or Orvis. It's definitely an androgynous glamour look, contrived as heck, and in most cases openly woke and scolding.
This is one thing if you're the best in the business at that. It's probably quite another if you've cultivated a huge business based on another kind of customer, someone who wants the classically sexy look of Victoria's Secret, often to catch a man.
According to the Times:
That's what they're not doing. They're going all out to join the Church of Woke.While it was "probably time for the Angels to go," the lingerie powerhouse will have to strike a balance between moving forward and maintaining existing customers, said Cynthia Fedus-Fields, the former chief executive of the Victoria's Secret division responsible for its catalog.
"If it was a $7 billion business pre-Covid, and much of that $7 billion was built on this blatant sexy approach, be careful with what you're doing," she said.
And already they aren't very good at it. Victoria's Secret's new top model, Meghan Rapinoe, a lesbian soccer star who's done a hell of a lot of modeling elsewhere and seems to like it better than soccer, is their new face and corporate consultant on wokester content. According to W magazine, Rapinoe said:
Yet she doesn't project the "inclusiveness" she's been billed as projecting, given that she's been caught making a racial slur targeting Asians in her wayback, 2011, when she was 25. Some leftists are already calling to cancel her for that. Way to rope them in, V.S."Any chance I get to do something outside of sport, particularly in fashion, I'm all over that," she said. "Particularly in the context of women's sports, where I feel we're very boxed in."
According to Sarah Hoyt of Instapundit, the whole thing looks like a loser. Getting woke is always a formula for going broke, as we all know, but in this case, the V.S. customer base is dispensed with altogether in favor of another one. Not exactly a formula for growth, actually: