They will "instead appear on a podcast"
Priyanka Chopra has been named as a spokeswoman for prominent lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret.
The glamourous brand has been known for its catwalk show, featuring slender models who would train for months to ensure they looked the part.
However, after years of plummeting sales figures and ongoing backlash over its lack of diversity, Victoria’s Secret has come up with a new way of promoting the brand.
The lingerie giant has unveiled its new “diverse” line-up of spokeswomen.
Priyanka Chopra has been named one of the “leading icons” to “shape the future of the brand”.
She joins American footballer and LGBT advocate Megan Rapinoe.
It was reported that the women will not be posing in lingerie.
They will “instead appear on a podcast and in marketing materials for the recovering brand”.
Other spokeswomen include Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech, freestyle skier Eileen Gu, Brazilian transgender model Valentina Sampaio, plus-size model Paloma Elesser, and journalist Amanda de Cadenet.
The women will host a 10-episode podcast where the women will share their stories.
In a statement, Victoria’s Secret said:
“These extraordinary partners, with their unique backgrounds, interests and passions will collaborate with us to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, new internal associate programs and rally support for causes vital to women.”
Priyanka said she is looking forward to developing future collections that are “inclusive of all people”.
She also shared that she is excited for new customers “to feel represented and like they belong”.
Traditionally, Victoria’s Secret has been promoted by a roster of high-profile supermodels, typically known as ‘Angels‘.
Asked whether the Angels would make a comeback in the relaunch, brand chief executive Martin Waters said:
“Right now, I don’t see it as being culturally relevant.”
He said that the brand “needed to stop being about what men want and to be about what women want”.
Mr Waters added: “I’ve known that we needed to change this brand for a long time, we just haven’t had the control of the company to be able to do it.”
Former chief executive Cynthia Fedus-Fields added that although it was “probably time for the Angels to go” the brand had to find a way to “move forward while maintaining existing customers”.
She said: “If it was a $7 billion business pre-Covid, and much of that $7 billion was built on this blatant sexy approach, be careful with what you’re doing.”
As part of the new initiative, Victoria’s Secret intends to work with their new ambassadors to “create new associate programs, revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, and rally support for causes vital to women”.
On the acting front, Priyanka is working on the Amazon Prime Video series Citadel. She is also set to feature in Matrix 4.
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