Sara Sampaio Wears Sexy, Sporty Looks Lensed By Hanna Tveite For Porter Edit March 23, 2018

Top model and Victoria's Secret Angel Sara Sampaio is fired up and ready to roll, interviewed for the March 23, 2018 issue of Porter Edit. Sampaio is well on the way to establishing herself as an activist voice for a new generation of models.

“Models are expected to show up on set, just be pretty, do our job and not say a word,” the Portugese beauty explains. “When we do open our mouths, we’re branded as difficult, opinionated, troublemakers; we are told that we don’t know what we are talking about.” Pointing out that women out earn men in modeling, Sara insists that "we are still not respected. We are still exploited. And it’s such a disposable industry that girls feel like they can’t say anything, because there will be some other girl out there who will just do it.”

Sampaio regularly leverages her more than 10 million followers on social media to use her voice and “hold people accountable”. In 2017, the firebrand used Instagram to call out French magazine Lui after it published revealing pictures of her. AOC wrote about this situation, and we were honestly confused. Sampaio uses her Porter Edit interview to clarify her view of what happened.

“I’m fine with nudity. I have done nudity in the past, but I don’t do nudity for men’s magazines,” she explains. “I can suggest nudity, but I don’t want to show my boobs to a men’s magazine.” In the case of Lui, Sampaio alleges the magazine signed a no-nudity agreement, but on set, a member of the team attempted to persuade her to change her position.

Sampaio stood firm with the team, which included photographer David Bellemere, recently called out as a sexual harasser in fashion shoots . "Shots were taken as a red furry shrug slipped off her shoulders, accidentally revealing her breasts; she says she was assured they wouldn’t be used. “And they wanted wet skin, here…” – she rubs her collarbone – “so the vest got wet. But they told me they’d only use the shot from my neck up.”'

When the magazine was published, Sara's nipple(s) were showing in the shot. “I felt violated,” she says. “So, what, now every time I’m on a set, do I have to delete the photos to make sure nobody uses them?”

An debate about whether a nipple is a mortal sin, when a full body nude side shot is part of the editorial is not the issue here. If Sampaio has a contract with Lui, I think she should approve the final shots. She is right that men salivate over these shots in a way that women do not.

What else do we learn about Sara Sampaio besides her growing up in Porto, Portugal, where her father remains a professional scuba diver and her mom works for an import company? It'w worth noting that Sampaio was turned down twice for the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show before being accepted and then becoming an Angel in 2015.

Victoria's Secret and Feminism Are NOT Contradictory

VS Angels work notoriously hard and are expected to look flawless every single day. “It is a lot of pressure,” Sampaio admits. “But not from them – I put that pressure on myself. You are constantly in lingerie; your body is constantly on show. You just want to look your best.” She works out five times a week with a personal trainer. “If I could, I would live off pizza,” she laments. “But I can’t, because I’m getting older,” she sighs, putting her head in her hands. “I miss my 19-year-old metabolism.”

On the topic of female sexuality and feminism -- VERY near and dear to my heart as a 10-year veteran of Victoria's Secret, lastly as fashion director and head of product development -- Sara Sampaio is firm in her position. “I think it’s kind of hypocritical that now people want everyone to be equal, they want everyone to be a feminist. But if a girl is being sexy because she wants to be sexy, people are saying, ‘Oh, no, you can’t be sexy.’ Isn’t that anti-feminism?” I suggest that some critics feel the ‘sexiness’ Victoria’s Secret sells is one constructed specifically by, and for, the male gaze. “Victoria’s Secret is not geared towards men – we are selling lingerie to women,” Sampaio insists.“We are selling a dream. Everyone wants to feel sexy.”

I can confirm that the VAST majority of VS lingerie and beauty products are sold to women. Does the brand need some fine-tuning? Yes. But Victoria's Secret is NOT anti-feminist, and not only because it pays models so well. Women have for decades held the highest positions within the organization. When I stepped off the corporate jet, home from a group trip to Europe, it was seven women and one man departing the cabin. Our guys were waiting for us in the private plane lounge and we all smiled over our unique experience in American business.

In the matter of severing the Victoria's Secret relationship with photographer David Bellemere, VS management stood rock solid behind their models. As Sampaio declares, you don't find that kind of support against sexual harassment in a multitude of global brands. Victoria's Secret is an exception -- probably because the men know how to behave. ~ Anne

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