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Victoria's Secret - Angels And Demons 2022 Season 1 Episode 3
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00:01Everybody knows what the Victoria's Secret brand means.
00:05It's tits and glitz.
00:08Les Wexner thought that he was a god.
00:11Victoria's Secret put girls on the map.
00:13Every celebrity wanted to be part of that show.
00:15Business was so good.
00:17Victoria's Secret made fortunes on young bodies.
00:20It wasn't about the clothes.
00:22It was models fulfilling this idea of fantasy.
00:24There was something else going on.
00:27There are a number of red flags.
00:30The modeling industry have people who allow bad things to happen.
00:33Did Les Wexner know about that?
00:35And there's this huge mystery.
00:37People had mentioned his name.
00:39And part of the mystery was Jeffrey Epstein.
00:42What Wexner did was unthinkable.
00:44Giving him power of attorney.
00:46But there's a larger picture here.
00:48Politicians, royalty, intelligence agencies.
00:51Why was Epstein doing this?
00:53Was this about power and blackmail?
00:55And makes you wonder how many more layers there are to this world.
00:58This is all a story that was meant to stay hidden.
01:01You got it.
01:02Thank you, everybody.
01:03One second and I'll tell you that's it.
01:04Okay, they're done.
01:05Thank you, guys.
01:06Bye.
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01:59The lingerie brand held its first fashion show nearly a quarter century ago, and it's going to be no more.
02:15The runway is closed. I'm talking about the Victoria's Secret fashion show is now officially canceled.
02:22After more than two decades, the TV special is accused of being out of set with the Times.
02:29So many people do not fit into that narrow standard of beauty.
02:34It's very obvious from what's going on in the world today that women are demanding more.
02:39It's a company that is not at all sort of sure-footed in this new environment.
02:47It's hard to ignore some difficult questions about billionaire founder Les Wexner's ties to the late financier Epstein, who was indicted on sex trafficking charges.
03:00I think what I've tried to do is make the world a better place.
03:04I think that's what's really important. Nobody remembers who sold the most togas in Rome.
03:10In terms of legacy, people remember the great villains more than they remember the great heroes.
03:15And so I think how you feel about yourself, what do you say about yourself when you put your head on the pillow?
03:23Are you really proud of what you're doing and the way you're doing it?
03:26I think it's really a fundamental question.
03:29First, there was the miracle. Then came angels. Now, Victoria's Secret introduces Angels 2000.
03:42The bra of the future is here today. Do you believe? Do you believe? Do you believe?
03:48First, there was the miracle.
03:50Then came angels.
03:53Now, Victoria's Secret introduces Angels 2000.
03:57The bra of the future is here today.
04:01Do you believe?
04:02Do you believe?
04:03Do you believe?
04:04I believe in miracles.
04:05I believe.
04:05I believe.
04:06I believe.
04:07Get a miracle.
04:08You'll see.
04:18You know, Victoria's Secret, there's a great history to it, but I think when we get to
04:24the heart of it, it's mostly an unknown story.
04:29A lot of people know what Victoria's Secret is, and even The Limited.
04:35Fewer people know about Les Wexner, the discreet billionaire behind Liz Brands.
04:43He was and still is the richest man in Ohio.
04:48But no one really knew who he was.
04:52Les is a genius.
04:54He thinks on a global scale that very few other entrepreneurs have.
05:00Maybe Zuckerberg, you know?
05:02But, like, Zuckerberg wanted to be a part of everything we do socially.
05:06Les was all about retail dominance.
05:09You have to understand that this was an era where fashion influenced people, not the other
05:24way around.
05:25Victoria's Secret grew to a $7.5 billion enterprise worldwide.
05:37It became a very, very powerful brand.
05:43Maybe the greatest in all of retailing.
05:45People used to say that working at the Victoria's Secret was a cult.
05:57I think that's a bit of an exaggeration.
06:00But I'll tell you, at those annual meetings, you really felt the spirit.
06:07There was this tremendous adoration.
06:19The founder, the leader of us all was speaking.
06:26So, did I drink the Kool-Aid?
06:33And I think the answer is, I did.
06:37Growing up, Victoria's Secret would be a model's dream to be included.
06:47And that was, like, a teenage fantasy.
06:55But I realized later that there are people who allowed a lot of bad things to happen.
07:01Fashion is essentially amoral.
07:08It doesn't care about good or bad.
07:10It has no ethics.
07:12It has one rule.
07:15Sell the front.
07:17No matter of the collateral damage.
07:22So, it never really surprised me, as the Jeffrey Epstein onion was unpeeled,
07:29what face was on the next layer of the onion.
07:32Oh, here's Les Wexner, right at the top.
07:42The funny story I like telling, I was driving to Dayton,
07:46and I was thinking about what other businesses I could start.
07:49And I remember saying, all the women I know wear underwear most of the time.
07:55All of the women I know would like to wear lingerie all of the time.
07:59And I'm just driving down the highway, laughing my butt off,
08:03and thinking what a funny thought that is.
08:07And so I said, I wonder why no one's done that.
08:11Victoria's Secret, a company started by Roy Raymond
08:14because he was embarrassed in stores buying lingerie for his wife,
08:19thought other men feeling the same would rather buy by catalog.
08:22So, panties, bras, camisoles, and corsets in fine French silk.
08:29Victoria's Secret did start with just the two of us.
08:32And I don't know if people would be surprised by the fact that I was the inspiration for starting.
08:38Les Wexner had contacted Roy over the years a couple of times
08:46because Les had always been interested in the lingerie concept.
08:51Victoria's Secret business, when Roy Raymond sold it to Les Wexner,
08:58was basically on its last legs.
09:01It was facing bankruptcy.
09:03It was kind of Victorian velvet sofas and Tiffany lampshades kind of a place.
09:09So, in 1982, Roy and I flew to Columbus on their jet.
09:16Les Wexner was initially a little hard to read.
09:21I mean, he had an interesting group of men around him.
09:26Everybody around him was a man.
09:29The notion of Victoria should be a lady's paradise.
09:32If men like Victoria's Secret, that's kind of a bonus.
09:35But in my imagination, they should feel uncomfortable when they're in the store.
09:41That thinking goes into the design of the store, the fitting rooms, the fabric, the display.
09:46It's all from the lady's point of view.
09:48It's nothing to do with men.
09:51After the sale of Victoria's Secret, it became very different.
09:57Les had a very powerful vision for how that business could be grown,
10:02could become very dominant in the marketplace.
10:07His idea was to take an everyday commodity, like milk or bread,
10:13and romanticize it, fantasize it, make it something bigger than it was.
10:20Les had read a book written by the famous director, Sidney Lumet, called Making Movies,
10:36and said, this is what you need to do.
10:39You need to have a story about your brand
10:43that you use as your, not only inspirational mechanism,
10:48but also as your control mechanism.
10:52So he invented a story about the mythical founder of the brand.
11:01And her name was, of course, Victoria.
11:04She was refined, aspirational, and English.
11:15I am Victoria Stewart White.
11:18This spring, I shall turn 36 years old.
11:21Father taught me about business,
11:23but mother was determined that I developed my soul,
11:28my passion, and my femininity.
11:30Mother was passionate, a fiery French woman
11:34with a quick temper and a healthy disrespect
11:36for the English and their stodgy ways.
11:39She used to tease father about everything.
11:42Victoria is this smart, savvy woman,
11:46lived in London, her husband was a barrister.
11:52It was a fantastic story, and it was a very powerful tool.
11:56We're always running around asking ourselves,
11:59would Victoria do this?
12:02That was the touchstone.
12:05A new young assistant buyer joined the team,
12:09and she said, Cindy, when do we get to meet Victoria?
12:15That's how real and powerful the story was.
12:21Victoria's secret is extremely protective of its image.
12:24It doesn't want to be mentioned in the same breath
12:26as Fredericks of Hollywood or any, say, trashy lingerie store.
12:32Top models join the catalog's creative team
12:35in beautiful homes all around the country.
12:39But even in this spectacular Santa Barbara mansion,
12:43elaborate sets are erected to enhance every outfit
12:47that's about to be photographed.
12:48We like our pictures to be sensual, elegant,
12:51to be slightly more editorial
12:53than what most people perceive catalog photos to be.
12:57Yeah, right there.
12:58Keep your head down like that.
13:00Just look up here.
13:02Great.
13:03The catalog taps into America's fantasies,
13:06a gorgeous setting,
13:08the place every woman would dream
13:10of having her morning coffee.
13:11We shot every other week almost,
13:17and we went to fantastic places around the world,
13:23and Victoria's Secret became this home brand.
13:27The catalog came into the mail every week.
13:30The catalog in particular this year
13:32is going to pick up close to double last year's business.
13:35The minute we shifted to the English image,
13:41the response rates rocketed up.
13:44The volume of the business then was around 3 million,
13:49and when I left in 2000,
13:52it was just shy of a billion.
13:54The way that they presented the photography
13:59with the catalog,
14:00with all the great girls,
14:02it was chic,
14:05and we actually empowered women to own their bodies.
14:10They made it acceptable for mainstream women
14:14to want to buy and covet underwear.
14:19They were giving women permission to treat themselves.
14:23The catalog was being mailed aggressively,
14:30going directly into consumers' homes,
14:33and acting as an advertising vehicle that made money.
14:38The catalogs are certainly really, you know,
14:41provocative and fun and great,
14:43and men like to read them too.
14:44Yes.
14:45Has that been really a big part of the marketing
14:47of this company?
14:47No question.
14:48No question.
14:49The catalog, I think,
14:50is the best advertising for the business.
14:54I will say, you know,
14:56the free underwear card,
14:57which was in every catalog,
14:59bring this into the store
15:00and get a free pair of underwear,
15:02I succumbed to that almost every time.
15:06I brought that card into the store.
15:08I'd buy a few bras.
15:09I did what that company wanted me to do.
15:14Spinning a fantasy,
15:17telling a story.
15:18Is that really different
15:20from the retail shopping experience
15:23when people bought the lingerie?
15:28Whether they knew it or not,
15:30they were buying into that fantasy.
15:33Our mental model
15:36in building the Victoria's Secret brand
15:39is Ralph Lauren.
15:40Today, if you talk about Ralph Lauren
15:43to men or to women,
15:44virtually of any age,
15:45everybody knows what that brand means.
15:48I would venture to say
15:49all of us in the room
15:50have a very clear sense
15:52of the personality of that brand.
15:54It's vivid in your mind.
15:56Les was always a strong admirer
16:02of Ralph Lauren.
16:04And what Ralph Lauren,
16:06Ralph Lipschitz from the Bronx,
16:10was able to achieve
16:12in terms of his own personal lifestyle
16:15and the brand he built.
16:18To a generation of American Jews
16:22like Les Wexner's,
16:24Ralph Lauren was a story of,
16:27you know,
16:27remaking oneself
16:28into the kinds of people
16:29who belonged to golf clubs.
16:31You know,
16:31these other sorts of ritzy places
16:33where Jews in America,
16:35once upon a time,
16:36were barred from.
16:38I don't know whether
16:39I was an upper-lower class
16:42or a lower-middle class
16:43kind of kid growing up,
16:44but parents were working.
16:47Most of the houses we lived in
16:48were rented
16:49because we couldn't afford,
16:51parents couldn't afford
16:52to buy a house.
16:54Les wanted an aspirational lifestyle,
17:00something different
17:01than how he grew up.
17:06Columbus, Ohio,
17:07Test City, USA.
17:09For the past two decades,
17:11American business
17:12has tested more of its products
17:14in Columbus
17:14than in any other
17:16major American community.
17:17Columbus was very clean-cut,
17:23very Republican,
17:25and was a bastion
17:27of WASP conservatism.
17:31You know,
17:31there was an undercurrent
17:33of anti-Semitism.
17:35Les had a sense
17:37of a little bit
17:39of inferiority.
17:40that's part of this
17:42whole psychology
17:44where Les really
17:45feels like
17:47I'm going to show them.
17:54When I was about
17:5513 or 14 years old,
17:57my dad got fired.
17:58And I can remember
18:01so vividly
18:02saying,
18:03this is never going
18:04to happen to me.
18:05When I grow up,
18:05I'm not going to get fired.
18:08I'm not going to fail.
18:12After Les' father,
18:13Harry,
18:14was fired,
18:15he opened
18:16a full-service
18:17women's dress shop
18:19named after
18:20Les Lesley's.
18:23After a few years
18:24working with his parents,
18:26Wexner came to his father
18:27with an idea.
18:28Why not focus
18:29on women's sportswear,
18:31the store's
18:31best-selling item?
18:33His dad's response?
18:34You'll never be a merchant.
18:37Les wasn't shy
18:39about telling audiences
18:40that his dad
18:41challenged him
18:43and basically said to him,
18:45you will not be a success.
18:48That's quite a,
18:49a stringent comment
18:50coming from my dad.
18:52It got so intense
18:53that my dad and I
18:54didn't talk for a whole year.
18:56And my dad had a...
18:58Wexner borrows $5,000
18:59from his aunt Ida
19:01to set out on his own.
19:03And he opens his own store.
19:06And he called it
19:07because of the limited selection,
19:10the limited.
19:14Wexner's gamble paid off
19:16with profits
19:17that exceeded his expectations.
19:19And just three years later,
19:21his parents closed their shop
19:23and joined their son.
19:24By 1982,
19:26the limited was listed
19:27on the New York Stock Exchange.
19:29The store was successful.
19:31And by the time
19:32I was 30 years old,
19:34I was several times
19:35a millionaire.
19:37And it kept expanding.
19:38Les started with one little store
19:47in Columbus, Ohio
19:48and grew that business
19:51into 12 or 14 brands
19:54that dominated
19:56the malls of America.
19:58There was this great expression
20:04in the 80s fashion business.
20:06If you sell to the classes,
20:09you go to work with the masses.
20:11If you sell to rich people,
20:13you're going to take the subway
20:14to your office.
20:15But if you sell to the masses,
20:17then you travel with the classes.
20:19If you were a mall retailer
20:21like Les Wexner,
20:23you were going to get
20:24incredibly rich
20:25if you had a knack for it,
20:27which clearly the guy did.
20:28He created clothes
20:32for every demographic
20:34from cradle to grave.
20:40And the thing that Wexner
20:42figured out was
20:43is that women were shopping
20:44in the mall
20:45two and three times a week.
20:46He wanted to make certain
20:48that every time
20:48they came in that store,
20:49they were going to see
20:50some novelty
20:51where the store felt like
20:52it was brand new and fresh.
20:53Les Wexner invented
20:59fast fashion.
21:02He is the guy
21:03who figured out
21:04how to make Americans
21:05shop, shop, shop, shop, shop.
21:09Just the same way
21:10Jeff Bezos
21:11has revolutionized shopping.
21:14The brands that Wexner started,
21:17Victoria's Secret being
21:19one of the most successful,
21:21revolutionized those malls.
21:27In the 80s,
21:29it was all status-driven
21:31going into the mall.
21:33And today,
21:34what people are doing
21:35on social media
21:35is very similar.
21:37It taps into that impulse.
21:40The mall is like
21:41Instagram 1.0
21:43in the sense that
21:43it's where people go to
21:45show off
21:46and display themselves
21:47and that's a pursuit of status.
21:51Les always said
21:55that the world
21:57designs for us
21:59and it was the merchant's job
22:01to edit
22:02from all the stuff
22:03that was in the world
22:04for the customer
22:05that we were targeting.
22:08So the way
22:09we would accomplish this
22:11is by shopping
22:13various fashion meccas
22:15frequently.
22:17We were always shopping
22:18London and Paris,
22:20obviously,
22:21also Rome,
22:23Milan.
22:25Oh, and I can't forget,
22:27we also shopped
22:28the south of France
22:29in the summer.
22:30Nice, Cannes,
22:32Saint-Tropez,
22:33oh gosh.
22:33And the way
22:35we were able
22:36to do this,
22:38there was a fleet,
22:39small fleet,
22:40of private jets.
22:42You cannot imagine
22:43how much time
22:45that saved us.
22:48Typically,
22:49other competitors
22:50would go twice a year,
22:51but we went more often.
22:55At least six times a year
22:56you would go.
22:58It's called
22:59shopping the stores.
23:01Shopping the stores
23:02is going to look
23:02for shit
23:03that you can copy.
23:05All employees
23:06were taught
23:07the Elbrins way,
23:09the core ideals
23:10and beliefs
23:11of our founder,
23:12Les Buxner,
23:13that amateurs borrow
23:15and professionals steal.
23:18Taking something
23:20that's popular
23:20in Europe,
23:22make a tiny little change here,
23:23a tiny little change there.
23:25If originally
23:26it was in cashmere,
23:28you sell it in acrylic.
23:29If originally
23:30it was $800,
23:31you sell it
23:31for $35
23:32and boom,
23:33any girl
23:35who can afford
23:35a fashion magazine
23:36can now afford
23:37the most fashionable
23:38sweater of the season.
23:41And in their brilliance,
23:43the Limited
23:43even created a label
23:45for their knockoffs.
23:47They made it sound
23:48as if it was
23:48an Italian designer
23:49named Forenza.
23:51The Forenza sweater
24:03was the aspirational
24:05sweater
24:06for my seventh
24:07and eighth grade years
24:09in the mid-80s.
24:11All the cool girls,
24:12the popular girls,
24:13wore their Forenza sweaters.
24:15over three million sweaters
24:18were sold,
24:19making it
24:20the most successful
24:21sweater
24:21to ever hit America.
24:25It's all of a piece
24:26with what turns
24:27into the cerulean blue sweater
24:29that Miranda Priestly
24:30berates her assistant
24:31over in
24:32The Devil Wears Prada.
24:34What you don't know
24:35is that that sweater
24:36is not just blue,
24:37it's not turquoise,
24:39it's not lapis,
24:40it's actually cerulean.
24:42And you're also blithely
24:43unaware of the fact
24:44that in 2002,
24:46Oscar de la Renta
24:46did a collection
24:47of cerulean gowns.
24:48And then I think
24:49it was Yves Saint Laurent,
24:50wasn't it,
24:50who showed
24:51Cerulean military jackets.
24:53I'm going to filter down
24:54through the department stores
24:56and then trickle on down
24:58into some tragic casual corner
25:00where you no doubt
25:00fished it out
25:01of some clearance bin.
25:04It's the sweater
25:05that built the empire
25:07is how it's been described
25:09and very, very accurately.
25:11Les knew that inventories
25:21had to be refreshed quickly.
25:24And the quickest way
25:25to do that
25:26was through sourcing
25:28that he controlled.
25:30We'd put him ahead
25:32of the other retailers.
25:34Les became aware
25:36that if he wanted
25:37to make really huge
25:40profit margins,
25:41he was going to have
25:43to have merchandise
25:44manufactured in places
25:46where wages
25:48were considerably lower.
25:51We were the first
25:52American company
25:53to do business
25:53in the PRC
25:54before the United States
25:56government had
25:57consular relations
25:58with China.
26:03A lot of the business
26:05was based in Hong Kong.
26:06And then they would
26:07cross the border
26:08where the factories were
26:10with the poor people
26:11making, you know,
26:12probably 15 cents an hour
26:14making these sweaters,
26:15which is how you could
26:16afford to sell them
26:17for 35.
26:19They could control
26:20everything.
26:22Manufacturing,
26:22prices.
26:23They created this.
26:24They did it
26:25on a grand scale.
26:27Created this great empire.
26:29The magic of the limited
26:30and victorious secrets
26:31is that you've got
26:32a $3 billion,
26:33$2,500 store operation
26:36that can literally do
26:38in four weeks
26:39what it takes
26:40most of their big
26:40competitors
26:41nine months to do.
26:46I remember
26:47Les was taking
26:48some criticism
26:49for doing so much
26:51of his sourcing overseas.
26:53And so he was putting
26:54forward a concept,
26:56make it in America.
26:57And at the kickoff
26:59meeting,
27:00an older woman
27:01shouted out,
27:02it'll never work.
27:05And I was shocked.
27:07It was Bella,
27:09his mother.
27:09I think it takes
27:14a very unusual
27:15parent
27:16to encourage
27:18a kid
27:18to start
27:19his own business
27:19and to keep saying,
27:21you know,
27:21you can do it,
27:22you can do it,
27:22you can do it.
27:23He liked it.
27:25He liked the rag business.
27:27He used to go
27:27with daddy
27:28to unpack
27:29the shipments
27:29on Sunday
27:30and hand him
27:31the hangers.
27:33Les and his mother,
27:34Bella,
27:34were very,
27:35very close
27:35for years.
27:37A longtime executive
27:38told us
27:38that they were
27:39basically married
27:40to one another.
27:42As the years
27:43transpired,
27:44Les kept
27:45Harry and Bella
27:46close to him
27:48and they both
27:50were on the board
27:51of the limited
27:52and famously,
27:55Bella's office
27:56was right across
27:57the hall
27:58from Les's.
28:02You felt
28:03that there was
28:03a foundation there
28:04that you could
28:06build on
28:06and that's
28:07what you did.
28:09that's just
28:10what happened
28:11and that confidence,
28:14I think that
28:15you inherit
28:15that somewhere
28:16in the genes,
28:18that you inherit
28:18those qualities.
28:19You do.
28:20I think the important
28:21thing,
28:21the message is,
28:22is you must have
28:23confidence in yourself
28:24that you can do it.
28:26I can do it
28:27and I will do it.
28:29when I reflect back
28:36on my 13 years
28:37at Victoria's Secret,
28:39I always tell people
28:40that I felt like
28:41I went to the Ivy League
28:43school of retailing.
28:48Everything about
28:49how Les approached
28:51the business
28:51from ideations
28:53around innovation
28:54and new materials
28:55and product categories,
28:57that was Les's vision.
29:01I loved how
29:02overly thought out
29:03it was.
29:04It was like,
29:05here's the plan,
29:06here's the pathway,
29:07here's how we're
29:08going to convert clients,
29:09we're going to get them
29:10in the fitting room.
29:11Once they're in the fitting room,
29:12they're ours.
29:13So throw as much
29:14at them
29:15to expand that sale.
29:18I obviously
29:19drug the Kool-Aid
29:20and I loved it.
29:27Initially,
29:28Victoria's Secret
29:29did no, you know,
29:30traditional advertising.
29:32In fact,
29:32Les Webster
29:33did not believe
29:34in advertising
29:35because his attitude
29:36was,
29:36you've got a showcase
29:37in the mall
29:39with all these
29:39great windows
29:40and you really
29:42didn't need to advertise.
29:43It was Ed Razick
29:45who started that system
29:46and he got that
29:47working like a fine-tuned
29:48modern marketing machine.
29:50He was like
29:50number two
29:51to Les Wexner
29:52and they kind of
29:53worked hand in glove.
29:54In a matter of months
29:55we went from
29:56the idea of
29:57could we get on
29:57a radio program
29:58in a local market
29:59to being on
30:00every national
30:01entertainment news program
30:03and I think that
30:04in the future
30:04you're going to have
30:05a combination of media
30:06that includes
30:07every sophisticated
30:09kind of extension
30:10that a brand can have
30:11and if you don't use them
30:13it will be at your peril.
30:14You really have to have
30:15all the components.
30:20At the time
30:23even though
30:24Victoria's Secret
30:25was a very respectable
30:26company
30:27throughout the country
30:28and had a great image
30:29if you worked in fashion
30:31as a model
30:33it is not the booking
30:34you wanted.
30:37If you were a
30:37Victoria's Secret
30:38contractor all
30:39that basically meant
30:40your Vogue days
30:42were over
30:42your high fashion
30:43career was over
30:44it was basically
30:44where models
30:45went to die
30:46but make a ton
30:47of money.
30:49In the earlier years
30:51it was kind of tough
30:52to get models
30:53who were willing
30:55to model lingerie
30:56it wasn't easy
30:57but we did it.
30:59Stephanie Seymour
31:00who is now
31:01and was then
31:01a very major
31:03international model
31:04started working
31:05with Victoria's Secret
31:07I think that legitimized
31:08our brand
31:10and our business
31:11and allowed other girls
31:13to get into the business.
31:14The models
31:17were lending
31:18their status
31:21to our brand.
31:23You know
31:23it has helped me
31:24enormously
31:24it has helped them
31:25I've been a good
31:27spokesperson for them
31:28and vice versa
31:29so it's been
31:30a good
31:30it is
31:31a very good team.
31:34The 80s
31:35and really the mid 90s
31:37was a time
31:37when models
31:38had a name
31:39we were suddenly
31:40we were Frederique
31:41we were Stephanie
31:43we were these supermodels
31:45and Victoria's Secret
31:46was very early on
31:48in saying
31:48we're
31:49stepping on this bandwagon.
31:53Co-opting the formula
31:56from designer fashion
31:58was
31:59pretty brilliant
32:01because it equated
32:03panties and bras
32:05with high fashion
32:06and it does
32:08slowly serve
32:10to
32:10raise
32:12Victoria's Secret
32:13profile.
32:15A couple of years ago
32:16Les presented the idea
32:18to all the CEOs
32:19about considering
32:20a fashion show
32:21as a part
32:22of the general
32:23business strategy
32:24and several
32:25of the brand personalities.
32:27It really seemed
32:28that it was right
32:29for Victoria's Secret.
32:31What a phenomenon
32:31Victoria's Secret is
32:32and how
32:33this catalog
32:34has become the thing
32:35that either every man
32:36is dying to see
32:37on his coffee table
32:37or every woman
32:38sort of aspires
32:39to look that way
32:40or be sort of
32:41a Victoria's Secret woman
32:42and I think it'll be
32:43really interesting tonight
32:44to see the actual catalog
32:45come to life.
32:48I cast the very first
32:50Victoria's Secret fashion show
32:51and it was a totally
32:53bold idea
32:53to have a show
32:54for a lingerie brand
32:55because there was
32:56nothing else
32:57like that at the time.
32:59They saw it
33:00as a marketing tool
33:01because they thought
33:01this is how we can get
33:03the face of our brand
33:04out there.
33:05Maybe 15 years ago
33:06if a woman had
33:08a half a dozen bras
33:09and a half a dozen
33:10pairs of panties
33:10she thought she was covered.
33:12It was basically
33:13the man's approach
33:14to underwear
33:15and point of fact
33:17that's not true anymore.
33:18It's a very different business
33:19than it was
33:19just a few years ago.
33:22I'm about to rehearse
33:23Beverly Peel
33:24which is a very exciting
33:26moment in my life.
33:28She could probably
33:29rehearse me.
33:30Are you listening
33:31to me on Times Square?
33:33Yeah, I just heard that.
33:34What time are we
33:34on Times Square?
33:35We're going to be
33:35on Times Square.
33:36Oh my God.
33:37How do you feel, Ingrid?
33:40How do you feel?
33:40Are you still great?
33:44Back in 1995
33:45I was hired
33:46to do the first show
33:48for Victoria's Secret.
33:51In the 90s
33:52I was one of the top
33:53stylists.
33:54I was working
33:55with Miu Miu
33:56I was working
33:57with Versace.
33:58Victoria's Secret
34:00for me
34:00was this sort of
34:01patriarchal company
34:02in the mass market.
34:04I thought it was
34:04almost a paradox
34:05that they asked
34:06me to come
34:08and style for it.
34:10Everything we said
34:12it was a mantra.
34:13This is a fashion business,
34:15a fashion brand
34:16and this is a fashion show
34:17to show
34:18our latest fashion.
34:19one thing that was
34:25really important
34:26at the Victoria's Secret
34:27fashion show
34:28is that there were
34:28a lot of guys there
34:29because this was
34:30tits and glitz.
34:32Okay, what brought you here?
34:33What brought me here
34:34to this show
34:35is the exact same thing
34:37that brought this guy here.
34:38Are you hosting the show?
34:40Looking forward to it
34:41since the moment
34:41I heard about it.
34:43Your intentions
34:43are purely innocent?
34:45Of course.
34:45I'm really here
34:46just for a couple
34:46of enrichment.
34:47Is it all?
34:48Are you a fan
34:49of Victoria's Secret?
34:50Isn't every red-blooded man
34:52a fan of Victoria's Secret?
34:53So many men.
34:54I've never seen
34:55so many men
34:55at a fashion show.
34:57I guess every person
34:58they dress their woman
34:59in Victoria's Secret
35:01but they believe
35:03that their woman
35:04winds up looking
35:05like Frederic.
35:07The fashion show
35:08was very unique
35:09because it wasn't a show
35:11where you're showing
35:12to buyers.
35:13You have some guns.
35:15If you use
35:24all the right elements
35:26what you get
35:28is a sensation
35:29and that's what they did.
35:32Victoria's Secret
35:33became itself
35:35something to know.
35:41I think it was brilliant
35:43but it was definitely
35:45for me personally
35:47quite exposing.
35:52I was happy to leave
35:53go home
35:54and cry in a bathtub
35:55and say
35:57God I got that over with.
35:59despite Wes Wexner's
36:16incredible wealth
36:17and incredible success
36:19Wexner was an individual
36:21running his huge company
36:23out of the middle of Ohio.
36:26this was far away
36:28from the movers
36:29and the shakers
36:30and the social scene
36:32of New York.
36:35Back in the 80s
36:36it was a great moment
36:37for what was
36:39the tippy top
36:40of American fashion
36:41and at the same time
36:43you had
36:44the arrival
36:45of an entire
36:47new billionaire class.
36:48So you could be
36:51a thug
36:51like a Trump
36:52but you still
36:54because of your money
36:55and your spending
36:56you could be part
36:58of Nouvelle Society.
37:04Wexner had the advantage
37:06of coming to New York
37:07astonishingly rich
37:09and almost immediately
37:12thereafter
37:12Wexner ends up
37:14buying Henry Bendels.
37:16I worked at Henry Bendel
37:19in this jewel box
37:21lingerie section
37:22where the most influential
37:24women in the world
37:25shop.
37:27The announcement
37:28that we had been purchased
37:30by the Limited Inc.
37:32was shocking.
37:35He wanted that
37:37New York cachet
37:38and that was a way
37:39to buy into it.
37:40The city
37:45was kind of
37:46huh
37:47they were aghast.
37:55He invited
37:57Jackie Onassis
37:58to the christening
38:00of the store.
38:01all the photographers
38:05were there
38:05this was a big
38:06paparazzi moment
38:07because he wanted
38:09that respect
38:10with New York society
38:13and high fashion
38:15New York
38:15this was something
38:17that obviously
38:17was really important
38:18to him.
38:23Any time
38:24when you see
38:24a socialite
38:25like that
38:26paired with
38:27a retailer
38:27like Les Wexner
38:28it's understood
38:30that someone
38:31has written out
38:31a very big check
38:32to their favorite charity.
38:41Wexner is coming in
38:43from the Midwest
38:44and he's intimidated
38:45by this New York society
38:48that he can't quite
38:49dominate
38:49the way he can
38:50in Columbus
38:51and you can see
38:53how he might benefit
38:54from a translator
38:56or someone
38:57who can kind of
38:57take his elbow
38:59and lead him
38:59into the right
39:00rooms
39:01and the right
39:02charities
39:03and the right
39:03parties.
39:08This was about
39:10the time
39:10Jeffrey Epstein
39:11came into
39:12Wexner's life.
39:18Jeffrey Epstein
39:19was a college
39:19dropout
39:20who somehow
39:20managed to get
39:21a job teaching
39:22at the very
39:23prestigious prep
39:23school Dalton
39:24in New York
39:25hired by Donald
39:26Barr
39:27whose son
39:28was William Barr
39:29the Trump
39:29administration's
39:30attorney general.
39:32It was at Dalton
39:33that Epstein
39:33met Ace Greenberg
39:35who was a parent
39:35there.
39:36Greenberg ran
39:37Bear Stearns
39:38an investment bank
39:39and that was
39:40Epstein's next job
39:41working for Bear Stearns.
39:44Bear Stearns
39:45wasn't one of those
39:46white shoe
39:47Wall Street firms
39:48it was a rough
39:49and tumble
39:49streetwise place
39:50run by Jewish guys
39:51and it was
39:52a bear that
39:53Epstein
39:53manifested a
39:55trait
39:56that would
39:57be part of
39:58his career
39:58thereafter
39:59which was
40:00worming his
40:00way into
40:01the lives
40:01of older
40:02successful
40:03influential
40:03Jewish men.
40:06Epstein
40:07was
40:08extraordinarily
40:09mesmerizing
40:11and
40:13could convince
40:14anything
40:15of anybody.
40:17The master
40:18manipulator
40:19after a time
40:22Epstein
40:23develops this
40:24cloud of
40:25suspicion
40:25about various
40:26misdeeds
40:27around him
40:28at Bear Stearns
40:29and he's
40:30eventually
40:30forced out
40:31in 1981
40:32but
40:34importantly
40:34Ace Greenberg
40:36opens the door
40:37for Epstein
40:38to this world
40:39and that
40:40is
40:41what really
40:43seals the deal
40:43for him.
40:46Jeffrey Epstein
40:47would
40:48eventually
40:49take on
40:50as his
40:51key client
40:52Leslie Wexner.
40:54When Les Wexner
40:56met Jeffrey Epstein
40:57he apparently
40:58remarked that
41:00Jeffrey Epstein
41:00was so exciting
41:01that Epstein
41:03was everything
41:04that Les Wexner
41:06thought was lacking
41:07in
41:08Ohio.
41:11Both Epstein
41:13apparently
41:14and Wexner
41:15definitely
41:17were very smart
41:19men
41:20and each
41:22one
41:22must have
41:23fulfilled
41:23the need
41:24of the other.
41:26Wexner
41:27had the money
41:28that Epstein
41:30was seeking
41:31and Wexner
41:33got from
41:34Epstein
41:35the glamour
41:37and smoothness
41:39that he
41:40was seeking
41:41and I'm
41:43not at all
41:44inferring
41:44it was a
41:45sexual need
41:47but there's
41:48something there.
41:52Wexner
41:53bought
41:54this fabulous
41:54townhouse
41:55the biggest
41:55private house
41:56in Manhattan.
41:57It being
41:59the largest
42:00house
42:00in the city
42:01strikes me
42:02as a sort
42:02of desperate
42:03move
42:04because the
42:05biggest house
42:06is also a
42:07little gauche
42:08in some ways.
42:10Even with Epstein's
42:12help
42:12Wexner
42:13stayed an
42:13outsider
42:14in New York
42:14City.
42:15He never
42:16became part
42:17of the
42:18cultural
42:18New York
42:19world
42:19or the
42:20fashion
42:20New York
42:21world.
42:22This has
42:23happened
42:24time immemorial
42:25you know
42:25the Midwest
42:26King of the
42:27Hill
42:28comes to
42:28New York
42:29and discovers
42:29that he's
42:30really just
42:31a pimple
42:31on New York's
42:32backside.
42:34So at
42:35that point
42:36Jeffrey Epstein
42:37eyed that
42:38townhouse
42:39and maneuvered
42:40to acquire
42:42it from
42:42Les Wexner.
42:44Wexner
42:45eventually
42:45sold it
42:46to Epstein
42:47and it
42:47wasn't until
42:48years later
42:48that there
42:49was a
42:50transfer of
42:50real estate
42:51deed.
42:54Epstein
42:54paid upwards
42:55of $20
42:56million
42:56for the
42:58townhouse
42:59but
42:59there's
43:00no question
43:01that
43:01the property
43:03ended up
43:03being worth
43:04so much
43:04more than
43:05he paid
43:05for it.
43:18After Epstein
43:19had managed
43:20to navigate
43:21his way
43:22into Wexner's
43:23life
43:23Wexner
43:24Wexner did
43:25something
43:25that I've
43:25never seen
43:26in all
43:26of my
43:26years
43:27of reporting.
43:28He granted
43:28full power
43:29of attorney
43:30to Epstein
43:30and gave
43:31him
43:31unmitigated
43:33control
43:33over all
43:34of his
43:35assets.
43:3620 of
43:37Wexner's
43:38companies,
43:3919 trusts,
43:40and different
43:41charitable
43:41foundations.
43:42He was
43:42able to
43:43manage
43:43his real
43:44estate,
43:45he managed
43:45his investments,
43:46he managed
43:47his businesses.
43:48There wasn't
43:49a part of
43:50Wexner's
43:51empire that
43:52Epstein
43:52didn't have
43:53access to
43:53and didn't
43:54have some
43:55ability to
43:56control.
43:57And so
43:58to give
43:58carte blanche
43:59to someone
44:00the way he
44:01did with
44:02Epstein
44:02is such
44:03a puzzle.
44:18Here was
44:19Jeffrey Epstein
44:20who was
44:22obviously
44:22a conman
44:23to anyone
44:25paying any
44:25attention.
44:27I think
44:27the million
44:27dollar question
44:28is why
44:30a gentleman
44:30as brilliant
44:31as Leslie
44:31Wexner
44:32could allow
44:33this guy
44:34into his
44:35life.
44:37Years
44:37later,
44:39when I
44:39heard Epstein
44:41was involved
44:41in the
44:42business,
44:43it struck
44:44me as
44:44odd
44:45because
44:47Les was
44:48a micromanager
44:49and someone
44:51who was
44:51involved in
44:52every aspect
44:54of the
44:54business.
44:56I
44:57couldn't
44:58believe
44:59that
45:00Les would
45:01let that
45:02happen.
45:03something was
45:06amiss.
45:10Epstein
45:10was at
45:11the first
45:12ever fashion
45:14show and
45:15he even
45:15eventually found
45:16himself sitting
45:16near Wexner
45:17at one of the
45:18later fashion
45:20shows.
45:20It was
45:21something that
45:21he was able
45:22to use much
45:23to his advantage
45:24certainly in
45:25his early years
45:26of predation
45:27as a kind
45:28calling card
45:29that got him
45:30introductions
45:31where he
45:32wanted.
45:32did.
45:37I think
45:38retailing has
45:39a great
45:39future
45:39as long
45:40as you
45:40see it
45:41as
45:41entertainment
45:41and the
45:42internet
45:43is an
45:43important
45:43part of
45:44retailing
45:45and important
45:46part of
45:46marketing
45:46and important
45:47part of
45:48advertising.
45:48we tried to
45:52get on to
45:52your site
45:53a number
45:53of times
45:53today
45:53and found
45:54that it
45:54was just
45:54an overwhelming
45:55experience
45:56not to watch
45:57the models
45:57mind you
45:58but to get
45:58to it.
45:59We've been
45:59handling very
46:00nicely the
46:01daily demand
46:02up until
46:03the Super
46:03Bowl ad
46:04which generated
46:05a surge
46:06of a million
46:07hits.
46:16I think
46:17that's probably
46:18the most
46:18successful
46:18commercial
46:19maybe in
46:20the history
46:20of the Super
46:21Bowl.
46:21I can't
46:22imagine that
46:23happening with
46:23anyone else.
46:24I can't
46:24remember an
46:25incident ever
46:26where a million
46:27people left
46:27their TVs
46:28during the
46:29game to go
46:30do something
46:30else.
46:30The brand
46:34really did
46:35sort of beat
46:35fashion to
46:36the punch.
46:37Victoria's
46:38Secret
46:38really understood
46:40we're very
46:42hungry as a
46:43culture for
46:44beauty and
46:44beautiful people
46:45and they just
46:46sort of fed
46:47us what we
46:47all wanted.
46:49And so the
46:50beauty pageant
46:51of the 1950s
46:52became the
46:53Victoria's
46:54Secret show
46:54of 1999
46:55and on.
47:00fashion show
47:05is just
47:05modeling lingerie
47:07that's why
47:07I was interested
47:08in it as a
47:08fashion show.
47:10Everyone tells
47:11a joke that
47:12the Victoria's
47:13Secret fashion
47:14show crashed
47:15the web.
47:17We only
47:17crashed our
47:18site and
47:19we got it
47:20up and running
47:20very quickly.
47:23They used
47:24the crash
47:25to their
47:25advantage.
47:27It was
47:27nothing but a
47:28stunt.
47:28It was a
47:29way to get
47:29headlines.
47:30This is a
47:31problem for
47:32any marketer
47:33who depends
47:34upon the
47:36press.
47:37You live by
47:37the press,
47:38you die by
47:38the press.
47:39If you don't
47:39keep upping
47:40the ante,
47:41you're not
47:41going to get
47:42the attention
47:42paid to
47:43you.
47:56With
47:57the angels,
47:58Victoria's
47:58Secret created
47:59a whole
48:00sexier,
48:01more playful
48:01narrative.
48:02I think
48:02people wanted
48:03to see
48:03something sexy
48:04and then
48:05all of a
48:05sudden it
48:06became probably
48:08the number
48:08one booking
48:09because you
48:10could start
48:10a career by
48:10being a
48:11Victoria's
48:11Secret angel.
48:15One of the
48:16truisms of
48:17show business
48:17is that corny
48:18can work and
48:20the wings were
48:20corny and yet
48:22the press loved
48:23it, the audience
48:24at the shows
48:24loved it and
48:26they worked
48:26like crazy.
48:27And not only
48:29that, it caught
48:30the model's
48:30attention because
48:31they competed
48:32like mad to
48:34wear those
48:35wings.
48:35It would become a
48:41huge thing every
48:42season about who
48:43would be chosen to
48:45wear these or who
48:47would get one of
48:48the few allotted
48:49wings.
48:49It's amazing for me
48:52to be part of the
48:53angels across
48:54America.
48:55Those wings were
48:56so heavy.
48:58I almost gave
48:58them to another
48:59girl and then saw
49:00how good she looked
49:01and then I was
49:01like, no, no, no.
49:03We're doing the
49:04fittings today.
49:05The outfits have
49:05been in the works
49:06for several months
49:07now.
49:07Hi.
49:09Giving a girl
49:10the first wings
49:11is really a
49:12special experience.
49:14Do you believe?
49:15Do you believe?
49:17I believe.
49:17I believe.
49:19The angels
49:25with the wings
49:26became the
49:28huge part of
49:28the iconography
49:29of the show
49:30and that
49:31started with
49:32a pretty
49:33basic concept.
49:37The powers
49:38that be
49:39at Victoria's
49:40Secret
49:40came to me
49:41for wings
49:42because I think
49:43that they all
49:43wanted to create
49:44something big.
49:46At first,
49:48I made
49:48preliminary sketches
49:49and they also
49:51saw samples
49:52of what
49:53the wings were
49:54that I had
49:54created
49:55for Angels in
49:56America.
49:59Greetings,
50:00prophets.
50:01The great work
50:02begins.
50:03We had a preliminary
50:12conversation
50:13determining the
50:15looks or the
50:16styles for each
50:17segment.
50:19I showed them
50:19to Ed Raznick
50:20and to the
50:22stylists
50:22and ultimately
50:23the models
50:24would see them
50:24as well.
50:25Heidi always
50:26wanted the
50:27biggest wings
50:28in the history
50:30of the show
50:30and we gave
50:32them to her
50:33ones that
50:35were 10 feet,
50:3612 feet tall.
50:37I think
50:38ultimately
50:38I was lucky
50:39to be
50:41entrusted
50:42with this
50:43that
50:44what I mean
50:46it was
50:4610 years.
50:47I was influenced
51:16by movies,
51:18arts,
51:19musicals from
51:20the 20s
51:21and the 30s,
51:23Busby,
51:23Berkley,
51:25Picasso,
51:27Siraj,
51:27Chagall.
51:29But after a while
51:31the audience
51:31doesn't necessarily
51:32want to keep
51:33seeing the same
51:34thing.
51:34Stop it!
51:35Stop by finale!
51:36Come on,
51:36we're in touch
51:37and hang out
51:37and get up,
51:38check it out.
51:39Keep it up!
51:40Go, go, go, go, go!
51:43Alessandra!
51:43Alessandra!
51:47Let's go!
51:49Miles, we need
51:49more energy
51:50and more smiles
51:51than that!
51:53The hat's falling
51:53down, guys.
51:54The hat's falling
51:55down.
51:55No, no, no.
51:56She's got to put
51:56it back on.
51:57Stop by 2.15,
51:58the breakdown.
51:58Nice six, thank you.
52:00Why don't we go
52:00too?
52:01Backstage.
52:02They did so many
52:03adjustments beforehand.
52:05The outfits were
52:06ready to go.
52:07I think they faked
52:08adjustments on camera
52:09for the show.
52:12Like, they made it
52:13seem like it was
52:13more hectic backstage
52:14than it actually was.
52:15Standing by
52:16with me, Hathi.
52:17Dangerous music
52:18with video.
52:18Okay!
52:19In three,
52:20two,
52:21one,
52:22go!
52:25I thought it was
52:26fun to be part of it,
52:27but I feel like I was
52:29playing a game
52:30or something
52:30that wasn't really
52:32real at all
52:34and wasn't very
52:35aspirational.
52:38We need tandem!
52:40Three,
52:41two,
52:42one!
52:42The fact that the show
52:54made millions of people happy
52:57and tune in
53:11is a phenomenon.
53:14And there's another side
53:15of that, too,
53:16which is that,
53:17you know,
53:18there were people
53:19that were kind of tortured
53:20by it, too,
53:21by, you know,
53:22just the desire
53:23to participate
53:24and the willingness
53:25to submit
53:28to whatever it took
53:28to, like,
53:29be a part of it.
53:35Sometime in the spring
53:36or summer of 93,
53:38an executive
53:39came into my office
53:40quite upset.
53:42She said she had
53:43been informed
53:44that a man
53:45was in New York
53:46portraying himself
53:48as a recruiter
53:51for Victoria's Secret
53:52catalog models.
53:55And I asked her
53:57if she knew his name
53:58and she said
54:00Jeffrey Epstein.
54:03It's like,
54:04oh, boy,
54:05this is trouble.
54:07So I asked
54:11this executive
54:12to call
54:13Les directly
54:15and tell him
54:17what was happening.
54:19She did
54:20and
54:22Les told her
54:23he would put
54:25a stop to it.
54:28The point being
54:30that inappropriate
54:31behavior
54:33was reported
54:34to Les
54:35sometime
54:37in 93.
54:39In 1997,
54:41I filed a
54:42sexual battery
54:43report
54:45on Jeffrey Epstein.
54:48He worked
54:49for Victoria's Secret.
54:51That's what
54:52he told me.
55:05He took
55:07to Oliver Epstein.
55:09He was
55:10a man
55:10in the
55:11very
55:12long
55:12and
55:12in the
55:1320
55:14to
55:15the
55:15in the
55:1620
55:16morning.
55:18So I
55:18was
55:18a man
55:19to
55:19to
55:20me.
55:23I
55:24to
55:25him.
55:26Oh,
55:27he
55:27was
55:28a man
55:29to
55:30him.
55:30He
55:31was
55:31a man
55:32to
55:32him.
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