Why Bella Hadid’s Victoria’s Secret post caused online outrage: despite the lingerie company’s inclusive rebrand, fans complain it’s still ‘perpetuating body dysmorphia’ with its new campaign

Jul 8 , 2023

Bella Hadid maybe part of Victoria’s Secret’s more inclusive ‘VS Collective’, but not everyone is happy about it. Photo: EPA

This week Bella Hadid revealed on Instagram that she is starring in a new Victoria’s Secret campaign, provoking a mixed response online.

While many comments on Hadid’s post expressed excitement about the campaign, some slammed the brand for “perpetuating body dysmorphia to young women”. One comment referenced heroin chic – a controversial 1990s fashion trend that was characterised by extremely thin models – and some referred to the fact that Hadid’s ribs were visible.

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But some people hit back at these comments

Bella Hadid’s Instagram post that sparked debate online. Photo: @bellahadid/Instagram

“Skinny people exist and are allowed to be represented,” one person wrote, while others referred to her diagnosis with Lyme disease. The brand hasn’t posted anything about the campaign on its own Instagram account so far.

Victoria’s Secret’s new brand positioning

Lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret used to be famous for its “Angels” before 2021. Photo: Getty Images

Victoria’s Secret has majorly overhauled its brand in recent years following criticism of its “tone-deaf” image, including a controversial 2014 ad campaign that featured the slogan “the perfect body”.

Hungarian model Barbara Palvin poses on the runway during the 2018 Victoria’s Secret fashion show at Pier 94 in New York City, US, in November 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

In 2021, the retailer said it would stop promoting the brand using “Angels” – an elite group of models, including Gisele Bündchen and Tyra Banks, that were chosen to be the face of the brand.

It has since emphasised body positivity and diversity in its ad campaigns and introduced its so-called VS Collective, a group of women representing the brand including football player and LGBTQ advocate Megan Rapinoe and transgender model Valentina Sampaio. Bella Hadid later joined the group.

Part of Victoria’s Secret rebrand is the promotion of body positivity and diversity in its ad campaigns. Photo: @victoriassecret/Instagram

“Our focus as leaders and as a company is on ensuring we continue to be future-facing and become more and more culturally relevant in this shifting consumer environment,” CEO Martin Waters told investors at the company’s earnings call last month.

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But the rebrand hasn’t paid off in terms of sales just yet

Staff pack up in preparation for the closure of the Victoria’s Secret flagship store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse

Net sales increased by 25 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, when many of its stores were closed during the pandemic, but fell by 6 per cent in 2022.

“Changing a brand with a deeply embedded position is a journey of a thousand steps, and Victoria’s Secret is still at the start of its trek,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said in a recent note to clients. “That said, we believe that the new team is committed to making the changes and has already taken actions that will pay dividends down the road,” he added.

Some shoppers have criticised the new brand positioning. “You don’t have to remove the glamour to be inclusive,” one Twitter user wrote.

Waters told investors at a March 2022 earnings call that the backlash to its brand repositioning was “principally from men and people who don’t subscribe to the values that we subscribe to”.

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Victoria’s Secret’s latest swimwear collection introduces ruching, strappy and cut-out details to accompany its signature shine fabric. Photo: @victoriassecret/Instagram

He noted that despite the branding changes: “We still sell provocative merchandise. We still embrace very sexy … But we can do other things as well.”

This article originally appeared on Insider.

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Fashion

Bella Hadid just revealed on Instagram that she’s starring in a new Victoria’s Secret campaign, but the photo she shared – in which her ribs are visible – sparked a heated debate online
Not everyone’s happy with the retailer’s recent rebrand, with one user saying, ‘You don’t have to remove the glamour to be inclusive’ – but its CEO clapped back and said they still ‘embrace very sexy’