Victoria’s Secret’s Ed Razek, the long serving chief marketing officer who didn’t want to cast trans or plus size models, is leaving the company. Razek gave a rather explosive interview to Vogue last fall, in which he came out with all sorts of explosive quotes, saying VS should not cast “transsexuals” in their blockbuster fashion show, as it was “fantasy,”, and also dissing Savage x Fenty’s diverse, fabulous show during New York Fashion Week as “pandering without question.” Now, Razek is retiring, according to the New York Times, which seems like a blessing for the beleaguered brand.
On top of Razek’s remarks, VS has seen itself embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal — Epstein was financial adviser to the company’s chief executive, Leslie H. Wexner, although Wexner says they severed ties some time ago. L Brands, the parent company, has said it will be investigating the relationship between the two, hiring outside lawyers. Meanwhile, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show will no longer be televised, or perhaps happen at all. Razek’s farewell note, in which he informed the company of his retirement, was titled “So long partners.” The chief marketing officer’s departure is the end of an era indeed, with Razek presiding over the epoch of the VS “Angels,” impossibly beautiful and unattainable women such as Gisele, Doutzen Kroes, and Adriana Lima (and lest we forget, eternal cultural bell weathers Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum). The winds of change blow the feathered wings of the angels — in some rare good news, VS cast its first openly transgender model, Valentina Sampaio, this week.