Victoria’s Secret rebrands with new stars Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe and Valentina Sampaio
Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, US footballer Megan Rapinoe and transgender model Valentina Sampaio have joined Victoria’s Secret as the embattled lingerie company undergoes a “dramatic shift”.
Known for its famous annual fashion show featuring some of the biggest names in the modelling world – including Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks and Lily Aldridge, over the years – the brand has recently faced accusations of sexism and criticism over a lack of diversity.
With the last catwalk show held in 2018, Victoria’s Secret has now announced an overhaul – including the introduction of a group of seven high-achieving women, called the VS Collective, who will advise the brand and appear in adverts, the firm has said.
The last Victoria’s Secret catwalk show, featuring models including Martha Hunt, Lais Ribeiro, Josephine Skriver, Sara Sampaio, Stella Maxwell and Romee Strijd, was held in 2018. Pic: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Karolina Kurkova, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen and Adriana Lima walking the famous catwalk in 2003. Pic: AP
As well as Chopra, 38, Rapinoe, 35, and Sampaio, 24, who has worked with the brand since 2019, the group also includes 17-year-old Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu, South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech, 21, photographer and media personality Amanda de Cadenet, 49, and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser, 29.
Chopra, who recently starred in the Oscar-nominated The White Tiger and is married to singer Nick Jonas, said they would be working “together to chart the path forward in a new and impactful way”.
She added: “I’m not only looking forward to developing future collections that are inclusive of all people but I am most excited for new customers and for those who have always been a customer of Victoria’s Secret to feel represented and like they belong.”
In a statement on Instagram, Sampaio said: “I am honored and grateful to partner with @VictoriasSecret as part of #TheVSCollective – along with women who I am so inspired by. We celebrate authenticity, community and love for all women.”
As part of the rebrand, Victoria’s Secret also announced The VS Global Fund for Women’s Cancers, which will aim to help find treatments and cures.
Model Paloma Elsesser and media personality Amanda de Cadenet (pictured below) have also joined the VS Collective. Pics: AP – zz/Elaine Wells/STAR MAX/IPx and Pizzello/Invision
The changes come in the wake of accusations the company focused on working with thin models rather than a broader and more representative range of body shapes.
The brand’s image has also been harmed by reports of a sexist corporate culture.
Chief executive Martin Waters said the new rebrand is “just the beginning”.
He said: “This is a dramatic shift for our brand and it’s a shift that we embrace from our core.
“These new initiatives are just the beginning. We are energised and humbled by the work ahead of us.”
Victoria’s Secret will split from parent company L Brands this summer, it was announced earlier this year.
Its former owner, Les Wexner, had stepped away from the board of L Brands amid scrutiny of his relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Dozens of supporters were outside court as the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare made his first appearance.
Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the 4 December killing of Brian Thompson, 50, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing and shooting the executive as he walked to an investor conference.
Luigi Mangione supporters stand outside the Supreme Court. Pic: AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah
Dozens of people who showed up in court to support the suspect including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who was jailed for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Dozens more queued in the hallway.
Mangione is also facing federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.
Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson. Pic: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP
In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.
Police say he was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document that expressed “ill will” towards corporate America.
He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.
A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have not “done anything” to end the Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump has said.
He called the French president a “friend of mine” and the UK leader a “nice guy” but said Russia had only agreed to negotiate “because of me”.
Mr Trump made the comments days before both leaders visit the White House for a meeting in which they must try to press Ukraine‘s case while keeping the US leader onside.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron in Paris: Pic: Number 10/Flickr
The president also continued his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he had “no cards” to play.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” he told a Fox radio show.
The comments come after he recently called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections” – apparently in response to Mr Zelenskyy saying his US counterpart was living in a “disinformation space” after Mr Trump claimed Ukraine had started the war.
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US and Russia hold talks in Saudi Arabia
Ukraine was also excluded from talks between the top US and Russian diplomats in Riyadh earlier this week.
They were intended to set the stage for future negotiations on ending the war, which started when Russia launched a full-scale invasion three years ago.
Speaking on Friday evening, Mr Trump denied speculation he could visit Moscow for talks on 9 May – the day Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also told reporters the Russian and Ukrainian leaders needed to “work together” to end the war.
However, the US has already dealt a huge blow to Kyiv’s position in any future talks.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that a return to pre-war borders was “unrealistic” and ruled out NATO membership as way to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
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President Zelenskyy has insisted he will not accept any deal that his country is not involved in.
Ukraine’s leader held talks with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday, describing it later as a “good discussion”.
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Mr Kellogg struck a markedly different tone to President Trump when he called Mr Zelenskyy the “courageous leader of a nation at war”.
However, there are concerns over how much influence Mr Kellogg has, with a Ukrainian source saying there was a sense he had been sidelined.
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