Victoria’s Secret's Not So Secret Decline

Victoria’s Secret has been such a famous lingerie brand for a long time, until recently. Let’s have a look at the reasons why.

It was the 1990s when Victoria’s Secret lingerie line was every woman's fantasy (men’s too). It’s founder, Roy Raymond founded the line in 1977 because he wanted to create a store of women's lingerie shop which was targeted at men. Now, if the very conception of a women’s store was centered around men, then what can we really expect from them for women. 

There have been so many reasons why this once exquisite brand's sales are nose-diving like a crashing plane. The brand that played a major role in defining what is considered ‘sexy', cannot determine how to get their sales back on track. Let’s understand a few factors of this brand's decline and what are they pointing at:

1. Overtly Sexual and Explicit Marketing

Victoria's Secret uses sexiness as it’s brand motto. Its marketing uses extensive use of barely clothed women in strapped or binding lingerie giving them the look of ultimate sex objects which doesn’t go well with women who seek liberation and dignity. The stores are covered with explicit images of models who are size zero and those who flaunt a ‘perfect’ body.  

Their annual fashion show also featured models called ‘angels’ for which no transsexual model, oversized, or any of such categories couldn’t fit. Considering the modern times, when everyone wants something body-positive, their marketing of such models doesn’t seem helpful. For obvious reasons, women aren’t able to connect themselves with the brand who has no space for the diversity of bodies, colors, and choices. Today’s women ask for comfort, identity, and power and Victoria's Secret seems to offer none.

2. Competition From Comfortable Wear

Corsets were abandoned much earlier for the torturous effect it had on women’s bodies. Comfort was nowhere considered as something necessary when it came to women's clothing. With the advent of many brands such as ThirdLove, True & Co, Knix, etc which came up with new innovative lingerie options and catering to the soaring demand of ‘athleisure' which was not only liberating to the modern women who are working in different fields and wearing a large variety of clothes, but it also provides them with the required comfort so that they can be themselves unapologetically. Thus, Victoria’s Secret is facing tough competition from comfy wears which were equally fashionable.

3. The Decline of Shopping Malls

Victoria’s Secret usually operates from shopping malls and exclusive stores. Now with the progress in technology, so many online stores have come up that provide good deals, better quality, and a variety of sizes suitable for any body. It can be very challenging for a lot of women to specially go and buy lingerie from a mall specifically when they can easily shop from the comfort of their homes. The lockdown has already aggravated the situation.

Apart from all these, various other controversies gave a hard blow to the prestige of the company and its credibility. It’s policies that are still stuck on the aesthetics and norms that glorify the Victorian era is causing the company more harm than good. 

What is This Pointing At?

This is high time that companies like Victoria’s Secret that associate themselves as a brand that provides something for women, they start changing their ways. Changing their thought process and catering to the modern norms of feminism, individuality, and sexuality can allow them to get back in the game.

All these factors point at one thing and that is, how much we have developed as a society. We have evolved from an era when women were just considered as an object to pacify men. The decline signifies that our society has become more accepting of people's needs to be themselves and women have understood that their comfort, their place matters. The fall tells us that objectification wouldn’t work now. 

This is a ray of hope about consumer awareness. The consumer knows what they want and won’t consume just anything they are served. Seems like the time has come when Victoria's Secret should start taking seriously those who criticize the whole affair as sexist, pay attention to new lingerie start-ups that offer products meant for comfort and ease, and understand that women are abandoning Victoria’s Secret to shop elsewhere because they feel it’s fake and forced.

Written By - Khushi Prajapati

Edited By - Kashish Chadha