After I attended the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in October, the experience kept coming up in conversation with friends and colleagues. No matter who I was talking to, they had a lot to say about the comeback of Victoria’s Secret. Some enjoyed the glitz and glam, watching Bella and Gigi and Adriana back in their element—and others were deeply skeptical that the brand could ever recover from its role in upholding impossible body standards and its Jeffrey Epstein-infused controversies.
It was clear to me that there was more to the story than one fashion show. So I decided to dive into the strategy behind Victoria’s Secret’s attempted resurgence. The result is my new magazine feature, out this morning, “How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back.”
I spent time with Hillary Super, the CEO of Victoria’s Secret & Co. (parent to both the namesake brand and its younger sister brand, Pink), who is just over a year into her role. The fashion show showed consumers, investors, the fashion industry, and the press the core of her new strategy: Embrace Victoria’s Secret’s bombshell heritage, but ditch the pressure to be perfect. As my story puts it: “CEO Hillary Super is shedding the body-shaming and the performative box-checking—but not the wings, glamour, and glitter.” For Victoria’s Secret, sexy is now a feeling to evoke in customers, rather than a prescribed blonde, thin look.
There are signs the new approach is working. The company has gained market share for two consecutive quarters. After its share price fell 50% in the first half of a volatile 2025, it began a steady climb in the fall and is now up 63% year over year. So what’s resonating? Victoria’s Secret was dealing with so much drama, including a spinoff from its former parent L Brands, that it fell behind on some retail table stakes; it’s catching up now. And I most enjoyed getting Super’s perspective on why Gen Z seems to be loving the return of the famous Angels. Early-aughts nostalgia plays a part—and the under-25 customer doesn’t carry that era’s body-shaming PTSD. She can appreciate the fun without triggering the baggage.
I hope you’ll read my story for a case study in bringing back a brand from the brink and going to the “core” as so many businesses like to say they are doing. For Victoria’s Secret, that core is “sexy”—and it’s finally not afraid to embrace that. Read the full story here.
P.S. You can also watch a fantastic video piece that goes “Behind the Business” of Victoria’s Secret on Fortune’s YouTube channel. It features my sitdown interview with Super and a tour of a flagship store in midtown Manhattan with CMO Elizabeth Preis. Enjoy!
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
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And this piece captures what it feels like to read the Epstein files. It's a glimpse into how much casual misogyny still fuels our world and is acceptable (and common) at the highest levels of power. The Times
Former Cohere exec Sara Hooker raised $50 million for her AI startup Adaption Labs. It's a bet on smaller, smarter models, my colleague Jeremy Kahn reports. Fortune
What's it like when your husband gambles away $1 million on sports betting? Sports betting "widows" are bearing the impact of a growing addiction among, mostly, men. Elle
ON MY RADAR
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How Miss Piggy went from minor Muppet to TV's top hog NYT
Goldman's defense of lawyer's Epstein ties provokes unease at the bank Bloomberg
PARTING WORDS
"It’s taken me to places I never expected to experience as an actor. It’s been a real gift."
— Emma Stone on her decade of collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos
