The Rise and Fall of Victoria's Secret: A Timeline
L'OFFICIEL walks you through some of the brands worst and best moments.
When you think of the word “supermodel,” who comes to mind? Maybe it’s Tyra Banks or Naomi Campbell or maybe even Gisele Bündchen. Or maybe you think of someone younger, like Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid. While all of these women are supermodels in their own right, they all have one common thread tying them together: Victoria’s Secret. Yes, the legendary lingerie brand.
From skyrocketing to fame in the ‘90s to its downfall in past years to its new rebranding efforts, Victoria's Secret has had its fair share of ups and downs. The new Hulu series released this week Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons chronicles the brand throughout its history. In case you wanted a refresher, L’OFFICIEL has broken down some of the brand’s most pivotal moments for you.
Roy Raymond Founds Victoria Secret in 1977
Imagine this: It’s 1977 and a young man goes into a department store to buy his wife lingerie. Everything about the experience makes his skin crawl and all of the lingerie is incredibly boring and ugly.
This is exactly what happened to Roy Raymond, prompting him to open his own lingerie store. And so he does. But instead of targeting the consumers who would be wearing the lingerie, he took a different approach. According to Slate, his first store in Palo Alto, California was the exact opposite of the hot pink walls and bold patterned bras customers would see if they walked into a Victoria's Secret store today. Instead, Raymond appealed to the men— Think the “red room” in Fifty Shades of Grey— dark fabrics, moody lighting, velvet textures, etc. per Slate.
Leslie Wexner Buys Victoria’s Secret
Even though Raymond’s idea was sound, and even though he began to open more and more stores, the company was still nearing bankruptcy, per Slate.
Leslie Wexner, who already had his own brand, The Limited, saw why Raymond’s idea was failing, and realized he could fix it. In 1982, he bought Victoria’s Secret for around $1 million, and quickly shifted the brand to target women, the ones who would be sporting the lingerie, per Slate.
Enter the fun and flirty stores filled with bras and underwear in bright, bold colors.
By the early ‘90s, the brand’s success soared to new heights, and was the “largest lingerie retailer in the US, with 350 stores nationally and sales topping $1 billion,” according to Business Insider.
The Victoria Secret Fashion Show is Born
Even though the brand’s annual fashion show has become synonymous with the iconic, bedazzled “Fantasy bra,” the world’s most well-known faces, and celebrities guests from all different musical genres, the first VS fashion show in 1995 couldn’t have been more different.
Back in 2017, ‘90s supermodel Cindy Crawford shared a throwback video to Instagram of the first-ever VS Fashion Show. Sure, tall, strikingly beautiful models still graced the runways in sexy lace and silky lingerie, but everything was much…simpler. No costumes. No insane production elements. Just lingerie.
Calling All Angels
You know when you walk into a Victoria's Secret store and you immediately see full-sized posters of Candice Swanepoel or Adriana Lima? Well, these were just two of many Victoria's Secret Angels, or the faces of the brand.
The Angel era officially kicked off in the late '90s and continued all the way until 2019, when VS decided to rebrand.
The Fantasy Bra Shines
What’s better than diamonds? Diamond-dripped lingerie. The Fantasy Bra was created in 1996, and model Claudia Schiffer was the first to start the tradition of wearing the million dollar (often times more) bra. The 100-carat bra, worn by Schiffer never made it to the runway, though, per Glamour.
The multi-million dollar tradition continued on through the years with many supermodels like Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bündchen, getting to wear the bra of all bras.
Sales Start Dropping
Despite the glitz and glamour of the Fantasy Bra and some of the world's most beautiful women, the brand's sales started to decrease between 2016 and 2018. Up until then, the brand had been thriving.
According to CNBC, sales went from $8.1 billion in 2018 to $7.5 billion in 2019. Sales decreased even more in 2020, taking a dive down to $5.4 billion.
But why?
The Brand Lacks Inclusivity
In 2018, Ed Razek, the Chief Marketing Officer for L Brands (which owned VS) was asked during an interview whether the VS had considered diversifying the brand. According to the BBC, Razek said, "Does the brand think about diversity? Yes. Do we offer larger sizes? Yes... Shouldn't you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don't think we should." He continued, "The show is a fantasy. It's a 42-minute entertainment special. That's what it is. It is the only one of its kind in the world," he said.
While Razek issued an apology, his comments confirmed a type of sentiment that consumers had already been feeling— VS was really only geared toward people who looked a certain way. It was not inclusive.
The 2019 Show Is Canceled
2019 signaled the end of an era. The annual Victoria's Secret fashion show was officially canceled in November of that year, per CBS. What had previously drawn millions of viewers, dwindled to 3.7 million viewers in 2018. And while this number still seems high, it actually hadn't been this low in over a decade, per CBS.
The cancellation is said to have occurred for multiple different reasons— a massive decline in ratings for the show from the previous, a decline in sales at the stores, and because there was a plan to evolve the brand, according to CBS.
The Rebranding Announcement
In 2021, Victoria's Secret said goodbye to their “Angels,” and said hello to a new ambassador program, made up of famous names like Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Adut Akech, Eileen Gu, and more.
Instead of just focusing on physical beauty, the new program aims “to become the world’s leading advocate for women,” according to the VS website. The collective has also shifted toward embracing women of all different backgrounds and ethnicities and showcasing women with all different body shapes—whether you’re curvy, athletic, thin, or anything in between.
And aside from more diversity, the brand also wants to make the world a better place. According to the website, the brand has plans to help fund women-owned businesses and give women a platform to share their voices.
Along with Akech, Chopra Jonas, and Gu, other ambassadors include: Amanda de Cadenet, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Megan Rapinoe, Naomi Osaka, Paloma Elsesser, and Valentina Sampaio, according to their website.
The Brand Continues to Diversify
In February of this year, Puerto Rican model Sofía Jirau shared to her Instagram that she had become the first-ever Victoria’s Secret model with Down Syndrome.
A few months later in April, the brand announced that Netflix actor Darren Barnet would be the first-ever Victoria’s Secret male ambassador, press release. The Never Have I Ever star also shared the news to his Instagram with the caption, “ I can finally share the news! am honored to be joining @vspink as a brand ambassador! I will be helping to launch new styles in their gender free collection while also supporting their initiatives in empowering young adults and mental health awareness.”
