Though Ed Razek first joined Victoria’s Secret back in 1983, it’s unlikely you were familiar with his name until late last year when, in a Vogue interview with Nicole Phelps, he made some pretty wild comments in regards to transgender and plus-size models not being part of the VS ‘fantasy’.
Naturally, the internet went wild. Social media was overrun with users calling for his resignation, while others called into question whether the lingerie label and it’s hyper-sexualised aesthetic even had a place in fashion in 2019.
Despite things taking a pretty sharp downward turn for the brand, as, viewers of its annual runway show fell to an all-time low and sales reportedly continued to slump, Razek backtracked on his comments and clung on to his position as VS’s chief marketing officer. That is, until now.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal yesterday (August 5), according to an internal memo released by Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brand, Razek is set to step down later this month amid “backlash from consumers about the unit’s marketing strategy”. Seriously: no shit.
The news comes just days after transgender Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio took to Instagram to reveal herself as the new face of the brand’s younger Pink line. Hopefully Sampaio’s addition to the VS Angel line-up and Razek’s long-awaited departure mean the brand is finally looking set to join the rest of us in 2019. Stay tuned.