Emily Ratajkowski poses in a minimalist, burnt red bralette and a color-matching, high-waisted thong reminiscent of the barely-there bikini styles offered by her swimwear line.

Victoria’s Secret is about to get another lingerie sector challenger with the announcement that Emily Ratajkowski is launching a new lingerie line called M / RATA in a collab with Blush Lingerie. Ratajkowski’s new baby will make its debut on November 22, 2018 just in time for the holidays.

M / RATA lingerie is committed to ethical manufacturing under the Blush umbrella, reflecting the growing demands and concerns especially among younger consumers. The rules governing its manufacturing practices are posted on the company’s website.

M / RATA by Blush is also committed to size inclusivity, a topic that haunted Victoria’s Secret once again after the brand’s recent, tone-deaf Vogue.com interview by VS pros Ed Razek and Monica Mitro.

Victoria’s Secret Fall 2018 Fall Fashion Show

Reading the Blush website, the brand celebrates ‘women empowerment’ stating emphatically: “Blush is made for women, by women. lingerie should help women celebrate their body, their sexuality, their true self, no matter where life takes them, and should be an expression of self-love instead of a tool of seduction.”

Blush Lingerie was launched in Montreal in 1988, with siblings Tiffany and Justin Ajmo taking the helm of their father’s business in 2001.

Victoria’s Secret’s answer to the controversial Razek/Mitro interview was to fire Jan Singer, CEO of Victoria’s Secret for the last two years. Say what!!!!!!

The VS sales challenge is formidable and not caused by Jan Singer. The brand’s stock price has been in freefall. But to sack Singer her right after the Razek/Mitro frankly sounds like something Trump would do. Rather than admitting their own out-of-touch marketplace analysis (note that Razek did a small mea culpa), like Trump VS sacks a fall guy/gal.

I KNOW how committed Victoria’s Secret has been to hiring women in top spots, being one of them for years. I remember the days when 7 women execs and one man got off the VS jet, when we returned from a trip to Europe. Note that the guy was our head of stores, not the CEO.

Yet, VS refuses to tell the great stories staring them in the face. Rather than create a pro-active narrative around the large women of color walking the the VS Fashion Show — or even better — telling the stories of refugee models walking the show, VS played defense around its past racial fashion show mix.

Coming on the success of Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie launch, Victoria’s Secret is challenged not by another Goliath, but by a new David. The VS position as reflected by Razek and Mitro’s frankly smug, tone-deaf comments makes the mega-brand subject to death by constant mini-wounds and not a full-frontal assault.

Ratajkowski and Rihanna don’t have the distribution of VS and probably never will. But they will rival VS in creating the narrative around lingerie in the minds and values of younger women. The last time we heard from Emily Ratajkowski, she was standing at a rally in DC with Sen. Kristin Gillibrand.

In the days before Mitro and Razek, super-talented people I know and have worked with, sat down with Vogue, Lou Stoppard wrote for Vogue.com “How Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty Is Changing The Lingerie Game. “

We can assume that Emily Ratajkowski’s M / RATA lingerie collection will add another wound to VS’s increasingly tone-deaf narrative around lingerie and the modern woman with a caring, activist, sexy heart.