Victoria’s Secret casts its first-ever transgender model just days after news of the 2019 Victoria’s Secret fashion show cancellation hit our newsfeeds.
Coming months after Victoria’s Secret chief marketing officer, Ed Razek caused a stir and received backlash after making a controversial comment in an interview with Vogue. The lingerie house has welcomed its first transgender model to the team.
22-year-old Brazilian model, Valentina Sampaio, is known for her impressive track record and history-making in the industry. The booked and busy model has shot many editorials for magazines like Vanity Fair, being the first trans model to feature on the cover of Vogue Paris in 2017 and a year later, Vogue Brazil.
Sampaio took to her Instagram to share behind-the-scenes photos, captioned “Backstage click @vspink ??” followed by a series of hashtags.
The news came shortly after it was revealed that this year’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show is cancelled. With viewership hitting an all-time low last year, Razek claiming plus-size and trans models aren’t part of the ‘Victoria’s Secret fantasy’ image they’re selling and sales declining, we can only imagine what the future holds for the brand.
Although Sampaio’s recruitment is a big step towards encouraging inclusivity in the fashion industry, it’s inevitable that we all feel cynical about it considering the timing.
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