Initial Research
Victoria's Secret
I have chosen to focus my research upon Victoria's Secret as I already have a foundational knowledge of the business and their market position. I have also wanted to look into the area of body image so choosing this business fits my interests.
Below is initial research taken straight from sources, giving me a background knowledge of issues the brand has faced in recent times.
Below is initial research taken straight from sources, giving me a background knowledge of issues the brand has faced in recent times.
Initial Findings
Ed Razek - executive producer
When asked about curating runways with more inclusive casting, Razek explained that attempts at diversifying the models would be seen as “pandering” and didn’t fit the company’s messaging.
“If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have,” Razek said. “We market to who we sell to, and we don’t market to the whole world. We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t.”
The show failed to live up to the ambitious goals that Razek touted. Robin Givhan reviewed the show for the Washington Post, calling it “too boring to even argue about.” She wrote:
“You’d think Victoria’s Secret would have made sure this show was exciting and captivating — a sort of good-faith argument in favour of its stubborn commitment to marketing-as-usual. Instead, executives produced a show in which the models paraded down the runway like dusty showgirls blowing kisses and drawing hearts in the air, with one model practically indistinguishable from another… No matter how many pairs of wings, crescent moons and multicoloured parachutes are on the runway, Victoria’s Secret is still selling bras and panties. And they are a mess.”
“It takes an extraordinary amount of ineptitude, laziness, and sheer disregard to make a show as stultifying and lifeless as the Victoria’s Secret one,” Givhan wrote. “Greater diversity would be welcome, but it can’t save Victoria’s Secret from its own self-destruction.”
According to data from Nielsen, the show averaged a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49 and attracted 3.3 million viewers, the latest viewership low in a five-year swan-dive - DIAGRAMS BELOW
"Show me the viewer who sees Gigi Hadid strutting down a runway in a floral boot leggings and floral push-up bra toting a giant - what? parachute? because why? - and thinks: 'Empowerment!' Vanessa Friedman wrote for the New York Times. 'Show me the view who sees Shanina Shaik in shell pink lace bra and panties with a silver brocade corset and silver ankle cuffs with her neck tied in a big bow and thinks: 'Damn, that woman is dressing to please herself."
The Victoria’s Secret curse strikes again. There has been growing unrest against the brand for quite some time, heightened in 2014 with the release of their “Perfect Body” campaign featuring models of all one body size.
After much pressure from women who were outraged at the audacity of the brand to claim one particular body size should be seen as the “perfect” ideal, they changed it to “a body for everybody” but the damage had already been done.
While the intense media attention died down a fair bit, the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was held at the end of the year as it always is, and it brought on a fresh batch of concerns, criticisms and frustrations about the lingerie brand’s lack of diversity.
There have been numerous campaigns in the past petitioning for the brand to offer larger sizes but they haven’t been as consistent as buyers would like.
The largest panty size Victoria’s Secret offers if XL which is equivalent to a size 16 in the US. The bra sizes are a lot more inconsistent as some styles go up to DDD while others only reach a D.
Two current Change.org online petitions are asking the brand to listen to their consumers and offer more of a variety.
According to Business Insider, VS controls 35% of the lingerie market, far above and beyond any other retailer. Another petitioner also from the US, Brittany Cordts, is going off the “a body for everybody” campaign slogan and wants Victoria’s Secret to “prove it” by offering more sizes.
“The slogan change is hardly compelling shown in front of only extremely skinny models that represent less than 5% of women in the US. They are sending a message to the world that you have to be a size 0-2 to be beautiful and worthy of wearing lingerie. Victoria’s Secret is promoting self-loathing and it needs to stop,” she writes.
She adds that the label has a “social responsibility to stop encouraging a toxic body image to tens of millions of teens and women” and to incorporate more curvier models into their lineup.
Let’s just point out that having a naturally slender frame is not wrong, nor is that the toxic part these campaigns are talking about. The toxicity comes when a major brand which controls a huge market share and has a massive influence in society is only projecting one body ideal and using slogans like “the perfect body” essentially isolating a huge part of their customer base which may not fall into the size 0 category.
Diversity and representation. They are simple things to implement, and this is what both these women and many other petitioners over the years are asking for.
'Fashion has failed us!' Protestors strip to their lingerie and march through Victoria's Secret at Oxford Circus in London to demand 'diversity from all brands’
Their protest comes after the much-anticipated annual Victoria's Secret show took place on Sunday night, pre-filmed in New York, which starred the likes of supermodels Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio and Stella Maxwell.
The show was marred with controversy after chief marketing officer Ed Razek dismissed calls for the inclusion of plus-size and trans models - remarks he later retracted, issuing an apology.
After the show, singer Halsey, who performed on the night, also distanced herself on social media, posting on Instagram to say that 'as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity'.
Another held a sign that said 'Embracing every body type', while another used the front of the store as her own catwalk, strutting up and down as she branded a board with the words 'We want equality at Victoria's Secret'.
The event appeared to have been organised by clothing brand Nu Nude, which promotes body positivity and advocates for women of all shapes and sizes.
A video posted on the brand's Instagram story sees the group of women getting changed into their underwear in the store, before walking through the shop, shouting 'Fashion has failed us', before continuing their protest outside.
Analysis
After reading these articles and noticing the issues that Victoria's Secret as a brand have, there is a particular focus up body image and how it is represented within the brand. Currently the brand promote one body type and this has created a lot of negative media attention, suggesting it is an unhealthy/unrealistic body standard being set to women. The brand's fashion show executive producer believes that the brand shouldn't include a range of sizes as this would be a disservice to the brand itself.
The lack of willing to change the image of the brand, means its image is the same it has been for years and the potential for change may be what the brand needs. adapting to the modern climate of consumers, who are becoming more aware of advertising and what they are exposed to. Being diverse and compatible with a range of sizes and shapes may allow VS to expand to more markets.
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