Bella Hadid Speaks On Working With Victoria’s Secret Again

“Back in the day, I didn’t work with Victoria’s Secret for campaigns and stuff, I only did the show. And the show was something that was really hard on a woman to put all your worth in the hands of, like, three men who essentially tell you if you’re good enough or not,”

Bella Hadid has returned to Victoria’s Secret. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, the model, 25, walked in three consecutive fashion shows for the lingerie giant. She left the company in 2020, joining her fellow catwalkers in accusing then-CEO Ed Razek of inappropriate behavior.

According to a New York Times exposé, Razek, 71, made unwanted sexual advances and frequently commented on models’ bodies, once telling Hadid she had “perfect titties.”

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Brooklyn Chop House Diners Hurried Out For Cardi B And Offset

Despite his denials, Razek resigned from Victoria’s Secret parent company L Brands, and VS has since hired new female leaders and adopted a more inclusive marketing strategy.

That strategy will now include Hadid, who has joined the VS Collective, a group of ambassadors that includes Hailey Baldwin, Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe, Naomi Osaka, and others.

“What magnetized me to coming back was them coming to me and really proving to me that, behind the scenes, Victoria’s Secret has changed so drastically,” Hadid told Marie Claire of her “very complicated” decision.

“[Joining the VS Collective] was really about taking my power back and having the power over my body be released to myself again.”

Bella Hadid Speaks On Working With Victoria’s Secret Again - SurgeZirc US
Hadid walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show from 2016 to 2018.

In 2018, her final year as Victoria’s Secret model, Hadid walked in Rihanna’s first Savage X Fenty runway show and couldn’t help but make a dig at her former employer.

“That was the first time on a runway that I felt really sexy. When I first did Fenty, I was doing other lingerie shows and I never felt powerful on a runway, like, in my underwear,” she said during a 2019 Vogue Fashion Festival appearance, per WWD.

However, in an interview with Marie Claire, Hadid revealed that “a lot has changed” at Victoria’s Secret since then, including the implementation of “new photoshoot protocols” that allow models to choose how much skin they want to show during shoots.

“All of us together, [models] Paloma [Elsesser], Adut [Akech], when we sit on the set, we’re just grateful for how we feel supported now, instead of how we used to feel when it was a lingerie company that used to be run by men for men,” she said.

“I just look around [on set] and I feel empowered again. I feel empowered in lingerie, instead of feeling like my body is some sort of money maker.”

Bella Hadid Speaks On Working With Victoria’s Secret Again - SurgeZirc US
When a New York Times exposé on the company was published in 2020, Hadid came forward against former exec Ed Razek, who allegedly would watch her and other models change at fashion shows and make sexual remarks.

Bella Hadid even hinted that she might design Victoria’s Secret collection in the future that is “cool and comfortable,” rather than just sexy.

“Back in the day, I didn’t work with Victoria’s Secret for campaigns and stuff, I only did the show. And the show was something that was really hard on a woman to put all your worth in the hands of, like, three men who essentially tell you if you’re good enough or not,” she added.

Bella Hadid, on the other hand, is confident that the company’s values (and body standards) has changed, she said, “With all of the beautiful women that are a part of Victoria’s Secret, I feel like there’s a representation of all different types of beauty.”

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments