Victoria’s Secret has hired their first-ever openly transgender model, Valentina Sampaio, to appear in an upcoming campaign with their in-house brand, Pink.
The supermodel — who has worked with designers like Philipp Plein and Pollini, and has appeared in Vogue Brasil and Elle — shared a behind-the-scenes photo on her Instagram page, which first sparked rumours of the news.
“Backstage click @vspink,” she captioned the photo of her in a white bathrobe.
Two days later, the 22-year-old posted a close-up video of her face. In it, she appeared to be wearing the same white bathrobe, standing in front of pink signage that seemed to read “Victoria’s Secret.”
She captioned the video: “Never stop dreaming genteee.”
“She is super happy and proud to represent all her community,” Erio Zannon, Sampaio’s agent, said in a statement. “She hopes this opportunity shall be another step to break barriers.”
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This significance of the news isn’t lost on anyone.
Transgender star of Orange is the New Black, Laverne Cox, commented underneath her Instagram post: “Wow finally!”
Nothing has been said about whether or not she’ll be seen walking in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, one of the biggest fashion catwalks of the year.
Sampaio made history as the first transgender model to appear on the cover of Vogue Paris in 2017.
The news of Sampaio’s induction into the iconic lingerie brand’s roster of runway stars comes in the wake of bad press the company has been receiving after its chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, made controversial remarks about hiring transgender and plus-size models.
In an interview with Vogue last year, the 71-year-old said they shouldn’t have “transsexuals” in the show because “the show is a fantasy.”
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He also said they “don’t market to the whole world” when asked about including plus-size models in their shows.
Though he later apologized for his comments via the Victoria’s Secret Twitter account, Razek has since announced that he’ll be resigning from his role at the end of August, the New York Times confirmed.
Back in May, the New York Times reported that American fashion retailer L Brands’ chief executive, Leslie Wexner, announced in a statement to the chain’s associates that the annual fashion show would no longer air on TV after a nearly 20-year run. It’s unclear whether or not the show will still take place.
Wexler added that the company had been “taking a fresh look at every aspect of our business” and that the brand “must evolve and change to grow.”
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meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca