In summer 2021 Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Water advised investors and analysts that the world’s diminished but still the largest lingerie brand intended to “get back into the fashion show business.” Water explained that the show would return in a “culturally relevant” way.

Writing for the New York Times, Vanessa Friedman was so over the idea, that her disdain or the old Victoria’s Secret fashion shows roared into cyberspace. AOC notes that Friedman — like us — saw plenty of fashion drama to celebrate in Savage x Fenty shows, which are also spectacles.

Presently, I have no idea what a new Victoria’s Secret campaign will look like and often feel like I am caught in a banging door, going from one campaign to a new one. It’s as if every week there’s another discussion of Victoria’s Secret’s latest identity crisis. [For transparency, I’m a 10-year vet of VS in the executive branch and actually left over the rise of the Angels. Make no mistake, though, I love beautiful lingerie and support a healthy sensuality among women and all humans.]

This fashion story ‘Earth Angels’ from More or Less Magazine [IG] adds a fabulous new twist to the VS Angels saga. If you don’t know, the magazine is devoted to sustainability and our living with less. More or Less wrote:

Hallelujah! For our final cover, we assembled an all-star cast of Earth Angels, styling nine ex-Victoria's Secret models in faux-fashion label Kezako’s upcycled underwear made from aluminium wrap, dried-out loaves of bread, old newspapers, cuddly toys and then some.

We are looking at creativity on steroids here and a brilliant way to call attention to sustainability. My mood on this topic is grim, as noted last week.

Gigi, Sustainable Cashmere and Me

There is a shocking disregard for the seriousness of the climate challenge among fashion leaders. I love Gigi Hadid to death — and am so proud that she called Ye [aka Kanye West] a bully yesterday over his latest Paris fiasco #WhiteLivesMatter assault on recent Black history and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson’s response to his collection.

I am also stunned beyond words that the word ‘sustainability’, even in the packaging, is not uttered about Hadid’s new cashmere brand.

If you had asked me if this was possible — that one of our most talented young supermodels would bring a brand to market with zero sustainability credentials, except the idea of investing in one beautiful sweater rather than three to five cheaper ones — I would have said ‘no’. That’s not possible.

And yet it IS possible, and darling Gigi just did it, when other options were possible. In November 2018 Gigi Hadid’s favorite cashmere brand was Mandkhai. In 2021, Gigi was posting selfies in cashmere by Seattle-based Public Habit, her latest fav cashmere brand. Both cashmere brands are deeply embedded in what I would call sustainable cashmere culture, and both brands admit they benefitted by Hadid promoting their clothes.

When it came to launching her own brand, Gigi Hadid chose an ordinary, commercial route, and the word ‘sustainability’ is not on her website. Sad beyond words was my reaction, and I reached out to the brand to see what I was missing, with no response.

I’ve gone from saying to myself “Surely, they just rushed to get the website done and didn’t have time to discuss sustainability aspects of the new brand” to “Surely at least the backaging is sustainable” and now I’m just sad.

We must be able to say to each other: “I am very disappointed in you, because I expected you to lead on this sustainable cashmere issue, based on your public love of Mandkhai and Public Habit.”

Within my funk over Gigi Hadid, who loves Bucks County as much as I do, this fake fashion brand story from Kezako Paris in More or Less Magazine made me smile just now. Given my deep experience with VS business culture, I had to laugh with extra vigor.

1 Granary shared a look at Kezako Paris in their January 2022 story ‘How to Make a Fashion Brand that Doesn’t Sell Clothes': Kezako Paris on Fake Fashion, Green Labels, and Random Creativity.’

Models include Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel, Elsa Hosk, Lais Ribeiro, Leomie Anderson, Lily Aldridge, Martha Hunt, Sara Sampaio and Stella Maxwell. Charlotte Collet styles the sexy beauties lensed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch [IG] ./ Hair by Ward; makeup by Jen Myles