No more Angels around here: in a new rebranding effort, Victoria’s Secret has launched two projects that will highlight successful women from various fields – The VS Collective and The Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers. Ambassadors include soccer player Megan Rapinoe, actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, skier Eileen Gu, model and inclusivity advocate Paloma Elsesser, and model Valentina Sampaio, who became Victoria’s Secret’s first openly transgender model in 2019. 

According to the brand, “these extraordinary partners, with their unique backgrounds, interests and passions will collaborate with us to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, new internal associate programs and rally support for causes vital to women.”

This is a significant move for Victoria’s Secret, which for years has been criticized for its team of models of nearly unreal Barbie-like proportions and for a marketing strategy that appealed more to male fantasy than to women’s needs. In 2019, the brand called off its flagship annual show ending its 24-year run of glittery, heavy wings. 

Representation matters. It’s crucial for us to show everyone ALL over the world that they matter and are seen! As a founding partner of #TheVSCollective and advisor to the business this is exactly what I intend to do. @VictoriasSecret

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— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) June 18, 2021

The company has also drawn criticism for parent enterprise L Brands’ owner’s, Les Wexner, relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in addition to a reported corporate culture of misogyny, sizeism, and ageism – which resulted in the resignation of Ed Razek, the mind behind the Victoria’s Secret Angels and the fashion show. 

The brand still reportedly racks up billions in annual sales – but has come under fire in the wake of the #MeToo movement and a shift towards body positivity and inclusivity, which other companies, such as Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty, have been successfully addressing. 

“When the world was changing, we were too slow to respond,” Victoria’s Secret chief executive Martin Waters told the New York Times. “We needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want.”

I am excited and ready to partner with @VictoriasSecret as part of #TheVSCollective – women who I admire and are icons of our time. I'm looking forward to working with them to show ALL women their individual and collective beauty and power.  #VSAmbassador pic.twitter.com/f79Cawp9IT

— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) June 17, 2021

According to the Times, Victoria’s Secret stores will “become lighter and brighter” and will feature mannequins in a range of shapes and sizes – instead of the typical size 32B. Angels imagery, which typically appears on the stores’ TVs and giant screen walls, will no longer be displayed. 

The brand will also expand its catalog to include sportswear pieces and will soon roll out nursing bras. Rapinoe and Chopra Jonas are reportedly working on new product lines, expected to drop next spring.