Victoria's Secret Will Return With a Fashion Show This Fall, This Time Featuring "Size Diversity," Refugees, Transgenders, and... Megan Rapinoe

Sooo hot. Can't wait.

Johnson also hinted at the show's focus -- and that it might be a departure from the superficial glitter and glam of its former guise -- saying that it will "reinforce our commitment to championing women's voices and their unique perspectives".

Feminist propaganda is so hot you guys.

The retail giant attempted to rebrand and reinvent itself in 2021, launching the Victoria's Secret Collective and replacing the Angels with ambassadors who were brought on board to inspire change and positivity, and who were not chosen for their looks alone -- described as "an ever-growing group of accomplished women who share a common passion to drive positive change". The brand also launched a number of new charitable partnerships with the aim of supporting the lives of women all over the world.

Dying corporations giving a few peanuts to feminist charities to garner some Woke Publicity on Twitter is so sexy you guys.

Kristen Fleming of the New York Post writes, "Perhaps it's best to let fallen angels lie."

She writes about the brand's descent into woke parody:

Suddenly, Victoria's Secret was a near-extinct dinosaur in a land it once ruled.

And so it employed the cancellation redemption playbook by putting itself into the penalty box and reshuffling behind the scenes. Razek left and more women were added to top roles. The vaunted Angels were dropped.

Soon, it became more popular for models to blast the brand instead of begging to be a part of it.

In place of the leggy celestial ladies, a "VS collective" was formed, made up of "accomplished women who share a common passion to drive positive change."

The group included tennis player Naomi Osaka, Brazilian transgender model Valentina Sampaio, plus-size model Paloma Elsesser and journalist Amanda de Cadenet, who hosts a female-centric podcast for the brand.

These newly paid spokespeople doubled as dominatrixes who publicly flogged the old VS ideal. Soccer star and VS ambassador Megan Rapinoe told the New York Times that the lingerie giant's previous message was "really harmful."

And also: "patriarchal, sexist, viewing not just what it meant to be sexy but what the clothes were trying to accomplish through a male lens and through what men desired. And it was very much marketed toward younger women."

And here we thought we were simply purchasing underwear, not buying our way into subjugation.

...

Sure, rebranding was necessary. The company was dated, mired in controversy and had lost touch with the consumer. And sales reflected that.

But infusing some sort of morality into a thong is pure pandering.

I don't need a manifesto with my bra. I just hope it holds the girls up and doesn't drain my savings.

As for the show, it's now a very crowded field.

Maybe it will make for a compelling tale of redemption. But if the brand's consumerism masquerading as feminism is any indication, my expectations are low.

This is not necessarily a Get Woke Go Broke situation, because Rhianna's brand Fendy has apparently been using plus-sized (or bigger) models and transgenders in its show for a while, and it's dominating Victoria's Secret.

I don't know that brand's wokeness is helping it or hurting it -- maybe it's just big because of the celebrity name attached to it, and due to the failure of the former industry leader.

All I know is what has been true now for ten years: Whatever men like is bad and sinful and men's desire for pleasure of any kind must be thwarted until they are made to accept that they are just Ugly Flesh Robots to be programmed by women.

Related: This is not from Victoria's Secret. Bonhomme just linked it last week.

posted by Ace at 03:30 PM

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