In this article:
- Victoria’s Secret hired its first model with Down’s Syndrome, Sofía Jirau.
- Jirau is one of 18 women in Victoria’s Secret’s latest rebranded campaign.
- The lingerie company has struggled with its image in recent years.
Victoria’s Secret is breaking new ground in the world of fashion.
The retailer announced that it hired Sofía Jirau, the company’s first model who has Down syndrome. Jirau is one of 18 women who will represent Victoria’s Secret in its new campaign advertising the Love Cloud line. The campaign, which features women from different backgrounds, is part of “Victoria’s Secret’s commitment to welcoming and celebrating all women,” according to a company press release.
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Jirau, who is Latina and from Puerto Rico, kicked off her modeling career at New York Fashion Week in 2020. In response to Victoria’s Secret’s announcement, Jirau said on Instagram: “One day I dreamed of it, I worked on it and today it is a dream come true.” The Love Cloud campaign will also feature wildland firefighter from the Nez Perce Native American tribe Celilo Miles, fitness trainer Jailyn Matthews, and supermodel Hailey Bieber.
This latest campaign from Victoria’s Secret marks the company’s latest attempt to revamp its image as a historically misogynistic brand. A 2020 investigation by the New York Times found that two executives at the retailer’s parent company L Brands, Ed Razek and Lesile Wexner, had bullied and harassed employees and models. In the past, becoming a Victoria’s Secret Angel was a career landmark for supermodels. But in June 2021, the lingerie brand ended its Angel program after almost two decades in a bid to rebrand itself.
This past June, Victoria’s Secret launched the VS Collective of seven diverse women who act as brand ambassadors and advisors. The VS Collective includes professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe, plus-sized model Paloma Elsesser, and Indian American model and actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The initiative aims to create new content, programs, and product lines. The company also started the VS Global Fund for Women’s Cancers, which raises funds to fight breast cancer.
Increasingly, new brands are selling products with diversity in mind. It’s become necessary for brands like Victoria’s Secret to revisit what they sell, and the ways that they market to women.