The CEO of L Brands’ Victoria’s Secret division, Jan Singer, resigned last Wednesday amid a continued slowdown in sales and a lack of diversity at the line’s iconic annual fashion show.
The departure comes about a week after the brand’s marketing director Ed Razek, triggered outrage for saying in a Vogue interview that Victoria’s Secret decided against including plus-size and transgender models in their show, which this year was held in New York on November 08 and will air on December 02 on ABC.
Judging from the location and models, it looks like the performance will be identical to last year’s. And, if that is the case, the brand can expect another crash in ratings: The 2017 show had its lowest ratings ever at 5 million viewers, down 32% from the previous year.
Number of viewers of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in the US from 2014 to 2017 (in millions)
The collapse of Victoria’s Secret is remnants of an increasingly bygone era.
When it comes to lingerie today, women often look to other women designers rather than settle for sexy styles at Victoria’s Secret.
“Once a trendsetter with a powerful brand identity, the lingerie retailer has struggled to evolve as customers gravitate toward rivals—including a number of startups—offering comfort and ease, not airbrushed fantasy,” observes WSJ.
Take, for example, Savage x Fenty lingerie line, Rihanna has been years ahead of most designers, filling her fashion shows with all different types of races, pregnant women, and plus-size models.
Women are also increasingly turning to the bra brand ThirdLove, which is exploding in sales and could reach $160 million this year. The secret: The company offers comfortable bras based on specific measurements, not sexy fantasy land models.
