In July 2019, cracks began to form in the facade of Victoria’s Secret, the country’s largest and most culturally rich lingerie retailer. New York Times published a protracted investigation details the close personal and professional partnership between the company’s billionaire owner, Les Wexner, and Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child molester then awaiting trial. about sex trafficking.
It was revealed that Epstein had been granted a power of attorney over Wexner’s estate and was sold by Wexner several properties at a highly discounted price, including his spacious Upper East Side home, the machine private jet that he is said to have used to carry women and minors. girls (called “The Lolita Express”) and other properties. Epstein, meanwhile, was accused by several women posing as a Victoria’s Secret recruiter before sexually harassing and/or assaulting them, this was reported to Wexner, who claimed he had no knowledge of Epstein’s predatory behavior and did not sever business ties with his friend of decades until 2008, approximately. 18 months after Epstein was arrested for soliciting child prostitutes. (Epstein was found dead in his cell just weeks after Times The report has been published.)
Seven months later, Times run another show up about “pervasive bullying and harassment of staff and models” within Victoria’s Secret, accusing marketing director Ed Razek – the man behind the brand’s famous image and advertising campaigns – of a a series of inappropriate behaviors, including trying to kiss a model, asking them to sit on his lap, and touching a person’s crotch before a runway show. (Razek, who resigned, denies the allegations.)
But that’s not all Wexner and Razek did. New Document Warehouse Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demonspremieres July 14 on Hulu, examines how the giants have given generations of women body dysmorphia through marketing campaigns flaunting unreal-looking body types. reality — statuesque models that are both thin and round (some of their TV commercials are even headlined by, you guessed it, Michael Bay).
Matt Tyrnauer, director of Angels and Demons. “And it was a huge hit because, in the brilliance of their quirky marketing, they emerged in a way that really worked. This is a time to promote female sexuality as a form of empowerment — best exemplified by Sex and the city—At the same time, the classic T&A blend with the beauty pageant logo is really weird and almost Trumpian. “
In 2002, a few years before West Palm Beach police raided Epstein’s child prostitution, Victoria’s Secret launched PINK – a collection aimed at teenagers.
“One day, they cleared out the entire knitting room and just left all the crazy bright little panties and matching camisoles out — and then the music kicked in,” says Sara Zofko , a former employee of Victoria’s Secret, recalls in the film.
“For me, that’s when I feel like something is going wrong. I mean, because PINK is really designed to target teens and kids, and so that doesn’t feel good,” she added.
“For me, that’s when I feel like something is going wrong. I mean, because PINK is really designed to target teens and kids, and so that’s not going very well.“
Dorothea Barth-Jorgensen, a model who walked into Victoria’s Secret’s PINK show – which famously featured 18-year-old Justin Bieber on the mic – was interviewed in the film and recalls it being as bizarre and fascinating as how.
“I had this dress with all the toys around [it], and the whole set is toy-based,” says Barth-Jorgensen. “I didn’t even know who Justin Bieber was before I did that show. My sister’s kids are so excited that I got to be on the runway with Justin Bieber. They were obsessed with him, and they were 10 and 12 years old at the time, so I think they definitely hit the mark.” (One outfit from the PINK runway show was a model in a hoodie riding a tricycle.)
Tyrnauer holds internal corporate and brand documents Victoria’s Secret for Angels and Demons. An internal PINK marketing video with the following narration, played through images of distressed young models: “PINK ensures the long-term growth of Victoria’s Secret by bringing in a customer base stable young that we can hold for decades.”
The filmmaker likens it to Meta .’s internal research about how Instagram is a toxic environment for teenage girls, with one research slide stating, “We make body image problems worse for one in three girls teen” and another suggested, “Teens blame Instagram for the rise in rates of anxiety and depression. “
“We had access to internal company videos and branding materials, and one of them in this series was the PINK video,” said Tynauer. “It comes on screen and this clumsy marketing video praises PINK, and it has this voiceover saying, ‘We can bring in a steady stream of young customers for decades to come.’ It was chilling for me, because everyone was buzzing about Instagram and its harmful effects on the psyche of young women, and it was a costume rehearsal for all those. what Meta caused and received enormous heat. Victoria’s Secret was right there to do this in shopping malls, which are FOMO factories, where merchants were siphoning off our money by luring us in with specific types of images. “
Another internal marketing video from 2008 featured in the film features Wexner boasting of his creative control over his companies.
“Branding is making movies,” he said. “I think it’s very easy to make a movie. I had that ability. I really consider myself the head of the studio, so that means I have to look at the scripts, make sure everyone gets on with the story. “
And that, of course, includes PINK.
Mindy Meads, former CEO of Victoria’s Secret Direct, asserts in the film: “I think Les was very excited about PINK, and so it attracted a lot of attention. “He saw an opportunity and he liked to exploit it.”
