Victoria's Secret Swim Spring 2021 Curvy Women | VS Finally Listens to RiRi

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The road to rehabilitation for Victoria’s Secret continues, as the brand plunges again into the swimwear business at slsect stores in America. VS swimwear returned online after a three-year hiatus from the category. WWD estimates that the decision cost the dwindling lingerie giant “roughly $525 million in annual sales.”

Launched on Monday, the new swimwear campaign stars Imaan Hamman, Jill Kortleve, Paloma Elsesser and Taylor Hill. Alex White styles the St. Barts shoot, in film footage and images shot by Tyler Kohlhoff [IM]. / Makeup by Jen Myles; hair by Jawara

The ‘Destination Swim’ seaside campaign is receiving very positive reviews. Featuring two curvy beauties Paloma Elsesser and Jill Kortleve, the campaign is hailed for its body inclusivity.

Yahoo News is running a front page story detailing lots of positive consumer response like:

"I’m really happy to see you incorporating some curvy girls in your campaigns," one commenter responded to a shot of Elsesser modeling a coral bikini for the campaign, which also stars Imaan Hamaan and Taylor Hill. "Keep it up."

"I like this change," read one comment, while another follower added, "It's so good to see VS promoting all body types."

"Thank you for now having models of all body types!" a commenter wrote. "Living for this."

"It’s about tiiiiime!" gushed a fan. "Yeees curvy queen!"

"The first image here is making so many women comfortable in their skin," another commenter said of Elsesser's shoot. "Keep it up."

The swimwear will be sold in select Victoria’s Secret stores, and the 2021 Swim ‘Magalog

Even with a plum feature like the Yahoo News post, Victoria’s Secret is never far from its past. The article rehashes all the negative — but true and well-deserved criticism of Victoria’s Secret — stories about VS.

AOC wont drudge up these facts, as we all know them. Just as Biden is trying to wean us from Trump, AOC is looking forward for Victoria’s Secret , not backwards.

We are watching the crushing Victoria’s Secret obstacle coming down the road in the form of Savage x Fenty.

I’ve quipped multiple times that if VS isn’t careful, Ms. Robyn Rihanna Fenty, born in Saint Michael and raised in Birdgetown, Barbados — yes that Black island girl — is going to crush them. Still, I couldn’t imagine the possibility in terms of scale until last evening.

When LVMH and Rihanna announced last week that they were putting Fenty — the designer clothing label — on pause, it was clear that Rihanna’s relationship with Bernard Arnault remained very solid.

AOC’s interest is the $115 million fundraising round for Savage X Fenty by L Catterton, a private equity firm connected to LVMH. We reported in December that the partnership both put swimwear brand Seafolly into administration in Australia in June 2020 and then bought it back again at an attractive price near year’s end. This new round of fundraising by L Catterton in Savage X Fenty resulted in Savage’s valuation exceeding $1 billion, wrote Fast Company.

Forbes agrees that Savage X Fenty is poised to overtake Victoria’s Secret by 2025 — which I find mind-boggling, frankly. Not that Rihanna can’t do it, but that she could do it in such short order.

I also didn’t know until last evening’s research that Savage co-president Christiane Pendarvis was VP of Merchanding at Victoria’s Secret from 2004 to 2008. That’s a short run, so Pendarvis may have had her own ‘issues’ with the growing boys club at VS — as I did, having left a couple years earlier. It only got worse internally, trust me.

So let’s just all agree that the swim campaign is great, but Victorias Secret has a treacherous road ahead.

VS is preparing to enter what it perceives as more lucrative markets in Milan and Israel. The UK Victoria’s Secret business has been sold a majority stake to Next plc. Hundreds of stores have been shuttered in America.

Also noteworthy, L Brands is preparing to separate the Victoria’s Secret business from Bath & Body Works, which is much more profitable. These are all great possibilities and AOC only wants Victoria’s Secret to succeed, even if Anne has a major case of “I told you so; you should have lsitened to me.”

Returning to Rihanna, that girl not only has Bernard Arnault on her team; she has Jeff Bezos and the special relationship RiRi is creating with Amazon. VS is begging for money and Rihanna is holding four aces in this emerging lingerie world dogfight.

I don’t believe in zero-sum games, so we hope both parties do well. But if I had to forecast who will come out on top in this emerging battle, my futurist instincts are on the island girl. It’s truly great when a young 30s Black woman can teach the 80s something white guy a few financial, branding and marketing tricks.

Les Wexner did once write the book on successful retailing and brand building. But there’s a new girl in town with fresh ideas about women being in charge of our own bodies and our own sexuality. VS owned this positioning, one I worked very hard on back in the day — and I lost the battle to Angels. It’s so Republican. However, as the slogan goes . . . “but she persisted.”

We don’t need some posse of ogling white dudes (especially Republican white dudes) telling us how to manage ourselves. Bottom line, Rihanna is stirring up a heap of trouble for this once titan of American retail. She may well hit him hard where it hurts, and I don’t mean a kick in his manly privates. I’m referring to his bleeding bank account. ~ Anne

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