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00:00Victoria's Secret is a brand with international recognition which maintains that they're
00:04a leader in the industry.
00:06But is it possible that underneath all of the glitz and glamour, this fashion behemoth
00:10is suffering?
00:11From overhyping their products to misleading the public about their diversity, it turns
00:15out this brand is less than truthful.
00:17It's possible this brand isn't quite as angelic as they appear, and it could even
00:21be likely that they won't be around for all that much longer.
00:24We'll tell you some true facts about Victoria's Secret that might surprise you.
00:28One of the common criticisms about Victoria's Secret is their lack of diversity when it
00:33comes to their models.
00:34Surprisingly, this is a relatively new critique, and there was a time in which Victoria's
00:38Secret was considered quite progressive.
00:41Since its inception, the modeling industry has been criticized for promoting excessively
00:45thin models and unhealthy beauty standards.
00:48During this time, the general public considered the angels of Victoria's Secret to be too
00:52heavy to stroll the catwalk.
00:54However, things have changed since then.
00:56While many would agree the industry still has a long way to go, it's no longer unusual
01:01to see less waif-like models on the runway.
01:04We're also seeing greater diversity in terms of different races and body types getting representation.
01:09But when it comes to Victoria's Secret, they have not only stopped evolving, but they staunchly
01:14refuse to do so.
01:15It wasn't until 2019 that they introduced a plus-size angel, and even this accomplishment
01:21resulted in some epic eye rolls from the general public.
01:24Barbara Palvin is a gorgeous woman and the first Hungarian to be bestowed a set of the
01:29coveted Victoria's Secret angel wings.
01:31While she's notably curvier than the average Victoria's Secret model, many argue she doesn't
01:36quite fit the criteria for plus-sized.
01:38Despite the company's opinion, Barbara is a size 8 and weighs only 121 pounds at 5 feet 8
01:45inches tall. Many fans believe this hardly qualifies her for the plus-sized descriptor
01:50and considers this a lackluster attempt at diversity by Victoria's Secret.
01:54Although Barbara has represented the company before, she was only recently promoted to the
01:59rank of angel.
02:00Some skeptics accuse Victoria's Secret of promoting her as a knee-jerk reaction to recent criticisms
02:05against the company.
02:06But considering the success of Victoria's Secret, you would think they must be doing
02:10something right.
02:11After all, this brand is iconic and has claimed worldwide recognition.
02:16But despite all of their claims about being a strong company and an institution in the
02:20field of lingerie, could this be all smoke and mirrors?
02:23As an extravagant display of wealth, Victoria's Secret has tooted their million-dollar fantasy
02:28bra.
02:28It features over 71 carats of diamonds, and Victoria's Secret claims it's worth a
02:33million, quite literally.
02:35According to diamond expert Grand Mobley, the gems used on the bra are worth approximately
02:40$800 per carat.
02:41Don't worry, we'll do the math.
02:43$800 times 71 carats equals $56,800.
02:48Sure, you have to factor in the cost of additional materials and craftsmanship, but that still puts
02:53us well below six figures.
02:54It's a far cry from the million dollars the company claims this garment is worth.
02:59The bra uses Swarovski Lab-made diamonds, but only diamonds obtained naturally would
03:04command the sort of numbers Victoria's Secret is claiming.
03:07Although Victoria's Secret would prefer we focus on their flashy runway shows and be
03:11dazzled bras, some consumers are able to look past those things.
03:15In 2019, Victoria's Secret quietly announced they would be closing 53 of their stores in
03:20North America.
03:21What has caused sales to slip so much?
03:24This is something we will have to speculate on because Victoria's Secret has been inconsistent
03:28in their explanations.
03:30There was a time when Victoria's Secret had their own swimwear line, but this was discontinued
03:35in 2016.
03:37The company claimed it wasn't a profitable venture and that they had drifted away from
03:41their core business.
03:42Scrapping the swimsuit division and refocusing on lingerie was the new business plan to bring
03:47the company back into prominence.
03:49That sounds great in theory, but a couple of years later, in 2019, the company announced
03:54they would be reintroducing their swimsuit line.
03:57It was a total reversal of their prior assertions, and the new line is already facing heavy criticism.
04:03Opponents cite sky-high prices, uninspired patterns, and a lack of sizing as serious issues
04:09with this business venture.
04:10It seems like Victoria's Secret is scrambling to find something that works, despite their exterior
04:15confidence.
04:16In addition to swimsuits, the company is also going to be selling footwear and eyewear,
04:20a huge departure from their traditional merchandise.
04:23Victoria's Secret is owned by Elle Brands, which owns other popular franchises such as
04:28Bath & Body Works and Pink.
04:30Elle Brands is down about 38% this year, so it's not hard to see that something isn't working.
04:35And a recent interview with their chief marketing officer seems to support this.
04:39According to Ed Razek, he lost interest in Instagram fairly quickly and doesn't see
04:44it as a valuable business tool.
04:46Considering the fact that social media platforms like Instagram have totally revolutionized the
04:51modeling industry, this seems like a huge oversight.
04:54And this was far from the only area in which Ed provided answers which seemed antiquated.
04:59When asked if he would ever consider having trans models, he firmly said the answer was no.
05:04He explained his viewpoint by stating,
05:05Because the show is a fantasy, it's a 42-minute entertainment special.
05:10This statement caused an immediate backlash, and even Victoria's secret angel, Kendall
05:14Jenner, seemed displeased, and with good reason.
05:17Ed quickly backpedaled, claiming his comments regarding trans models were insensitive.
05:22But then he went on to claim trans models have in fact auditioned, but were turned down
05:26for not being good enough.
05:27He also spoke out in defense of the company's decision not to include plus-size models in their
05:32lineup.
05:33Ed claims they considered the idea way back in the year 2000, but concluded there was
05:38little interest from the public.
05:39And with that, it seems Victoria's Secret took the idea off the table entirely.
05:44And before you dismiss Ed Razek as an outlier, you should know he had an important hand in
05:49making Victoria's Secret what it is today.
05:51He's been with the company since the mid-1980s, and by all accounts, he personally oversees much
05:56of what goes on.
05:57Ed has a vision of what it means to be sexy, and he has been hands-on in seeing his vision
06:02is represented.
06:03According to fashion photographer Russell James, Ed personally calls photographers
06:07prior to them showing up on set.
06:09He also attends major shoots himself and makes changes and adjustments as the session progresses.
06:14Although James claims Ed has an uncanny ability to discover new talent, it seems he hasn't
06:20broadened his horizons since he started.
06:21And it's not hard to see how problematic it is to have products marketed towards women
06:26heavily influenced by a man.
06:28In these modern times, women are often more concerned with how good they feel about themselves
06:32and purchase goods accordingly.
06:34And while the brand likes to pretend their models are the pinnacle of perfection, they've
06:38been caught overzealously editing their images.
06:41During one notable Photoshop fail, a model was left looking like half her backside was missing.
06:46In comparison, retailer American Eagle vowed to stop using Photoshop entirely to edit their
06:51models.
06:52After bidding farewell to airbrushing, American Eagle saw a huge spike in sales.
06:56There was admittedly a time when Victoria's Secret could get away with their single-minded
07:00approach to sales.
07:02However, the attitudes of their consumers are changing, and other brands are out there
07:06challenging the status quo.
07:08Just take a look at Savage X Fenty by Rihanna, which takes pride in providing products for
07:12various body types.
07:14And then you have profilic plus-size models like Tess Holliday, who aren't shy about letting
07:18Victoria's Secret know what they really think.
07:20Tess has criticized the brand for not including plus-size or trans models, and encourages consumers
07:26to support brands that do.
07:28There was a time when L Brands dumped other apparel chains, including The Limited and Express,
07:33from their lineup to concentrate on Victoria's Secret.
07:36This was supposed to be a strategic business move, but it seems as though it might have
07:40been a bad call in spite of recent issues with the brand.
07:43It's easy to see the lack of diversity during a Victoria's Secret runway show, but the issue
07:48actually runs far deeper.
07:49The CEO of L Brands, Les Wexner, as well as the rest of the company, is primarily white
07:54men.
07:55Victoria's Secret was even started by a man named Roy Raymonds.
07:58He said he felt uncomfortable buying his wife lingerie at department stores and disliked
08:03limited selection.
08:04So he decided to create an upscale lingerie shop featuring undergarments that were fun
08:09in addition to being functional.
08:10But despite this innovative idea, Victoria's Secret was soon in serious financial trouble.
08:15Why?
08:16Because Roy Raymonds had created a place where men felt comfortable, but women didn't.
08:20Eventually, the brand was purchased by businessman Leslie Wexner, who changed the store's aesthetic
08:25to be more welcoming to women.
08:27Through some strategic changes, Victoria's Secret became the massive company it is today.
08:32But although the brightly lit shops and soft colors may be appealing to women, in a way,
08:37their target audience is still men.
08:39Victoria's Secret sells a concept of beauty which few women can relate to, but we are told
08:44men desire.
08:44The fact that the retailer vehemently excludes plus-size and trans women means it is failing
08:50to keep up with evolving ideas of what it means to be beautiful.
08:53In defense of Victoria's Secret, there was indeed a time when they were considered revolutionary.
08:59Prior to their first store opening in the late 1970s, this style and these types of products
09:04weren't widely available in the United States.
09:06However, today the brand is clearly trying to stay relevant, and they're struggling significantly
09:11on that front.
09:12For quite some time, Victoria's Secret has displayed that it's quite out of touch with
09:16reality.
09:17In 2014, they launched a collection of lingerie called Body, but their advertisements were
09:22ill-advised to say the least.
09:24They featured images of Victoria's Secret angels with texts declaring they were the perfect
09:28body.
09:29Many felt these ads showed a dangerous message which promoted unrealistic and often unhealthy
09:34standards of beauty.
09:35A petition went out regarding the campaign and gathered tens of thousands of signatures
09:39before Victoria's Secret changed their campaign.
09:42Although they didn't acknowledge the backlash, they changed the ads to read A Body for Everybody.
09:47And although Victoria's Secret promotes itself as a modern brand, they seem strangely resistant
09:52to change.
09:53Sharon Jester Turney was the CEO of the brand from 2006 to 2016, and in that time, she was
10:00eager to evolve the image of the angels.
10:02Many employees pitched ideas like showing the models without makeup or learning more about
10:06their real lives.
10:07However, according to former employees, Ed Razek and others were quick to shoot down these
10:12types of ideas.
10:13They rejected ideas which would have shown their models as real people and instead opted to
10:18keep doing what they have been doing.
10:20And although Ed Razek claims Victoria's Secret has long celebrated diversity, there have been
10:25several offensive incidents in its history.
10:27Back in 2012, model Karlie Kloss walked down the runway wearing a Native American headdress.
10:33These items are far more than fashion accessories and have a deeper meaning in the Native American
10:38culture.
10:38Victoria's Secret was forced to pull the outfit from the broadcast of the event.
10:42Karlie did offer an apology on social media, but many felt it was less than genuine.
10:47She stated,
10:48Apparently, Victoria's Secret didn't learn from this incident because in 2017, it happened
10:57again.
10:58They sent Nadine Leopold down the catwalk wearing a feathered headdress, closely resembling
11:03a traditional Native American war bonnet.
11:05It seems like in addition to struggling to keep up with modern ideals and advertising practices,
11:10they also struggle to learn from their mistakes.
11:12As our society progresses, we strive to grow, improve, and adapt.
11:16But only time will tell if Victoria's Secret is able to do the same.
11:19How do you feel about Victoria's Secret as a company?
11:24Do you think the good outweighs the bad?
11:26Or is this a company you don't support?
11:28Tell us your thoughts in the comments section and then click on the subscribe button for more
11:32videos from us here at The Taco.
11:34Bye for now!
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