In 2022, the up-and-coming pop singer Jax made her first hit off a retail store every woman in America knows. "I know Victoria’s Secret,” she trills in the chorus, “she was made up by a dude!”
This radio-friendly allusion to one of America's most recognizable lingerie brands is more of a half-truth. It’s true that the heyday of Victoria’s Secret—a time of ultra push-up bras, darkly-lit stores, and models known as “angels”—was ruled by controversy-courting CEO Les Wexner and chief marketing officer Ed Razek. It’s also true that behind the scenes, high-ranking women at the company tried to craft Victoria’s Secret in their image. They just didn’t always succeed.
