An Angel cried? The CEO of the Victoria’s Secret lingerie division, Jan Singer, has resigned from the brand after two years, Us Weekly can confirm.
News of the staffing change came on Wednesday, November 14, nearly a week after the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was filmed in New York City.
According to Time, the lingerie brand has faced increasing competition in the field from companies that offer more inclusive sizes, including Aerie and Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty. CNBC reported on Wednesday that shares of Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, L Brands, are down approximately 38 percent so far in 2018.
Earlier this month, L Brands’ chief marketing officer Ed Razek caused backlash when he explained why transgender models are not featured in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. “Should you have transsexuals in the show?” he told Vogue on Thursday, November 8, using an outdated term that offended some. “No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is.”
Razek continued: “If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have. We invented the plus-size model show in what was our sister division, Lane Bryant. Lane Bryant still sells plus-size lingerie, but it sells a specific range, just like every specialty retailer in the world sells a range of clothing. As do we. We market to who we sell to, and we don’t market to the whole world. We attempted to do a television special for plus-sizes [in 2000]. No one had any interest in it, still don’t.”
He later issued an apology. “My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologize,” Razek said in a statement on Friday, November 9. “To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings … And like many others, they didn’t make it … But it was never about gender. I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.”
Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Behati Prinsloo, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid and Elsa Hosk were among the models who walked the 2018 runway on November 8.
