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THEIR attractive “angels” made Victoria’s Secret a £6billion model – however behind closed doorways, the lingerie firm was hiding some significantly darkish demons.
By placing the likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gisele Bundchen, Miranda Kerr, Heidi Klum and Helena Christensen in glitzy thongs, tiny bras, stilettos and angel wings, the American agency modified the face of ladies’s underwear.
However whereas they could have preached feminine empowerment, behind the glamour lay allegations of bullying and harassment, a refusal to embrace range and a disturbing hyperlink to one of many world’s most infamous intercourse offenders.
Now a brand new tell-all documentary will reveal the connection between Victoria’s Secret’s founder Les Wexner and the convicted intercourse trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
It alleges the 2 males have been shut associates for 20 years, dwelling on the identical property and that Wexner gave Epstein energy of legal professional over a lot of his enterprise.
Much more stunning are the claims that Epstein, who hanged himself three years in the past whereas awaiting trial for extra intercourse offences, used his affiliation with the lingerie agency to acquire younger fashions.
Former executives from the agency state that Wexner was conscious of his pal’s abuse of his place, however the billionaire lingerie boss denies data of any prison exercise.
Within the three-part sequence Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons ex-models inform how “unhealthy issues” occurred behind the catwalk curtain, with allegations {that a} blind eye was turned to “handsy” employees as a result of everybody was making a lot cash.
Fashions “didn’t eat” as a result of they have been inspired to be impossibly skinny and photographs have been touched up after they weren’t slim sufficient for the Secret’s ultimate.
Undoubtedly, although, it’s the shut ties between Wexner and Epstein that can be most damaging for the worldwide large.
Cindy Fedus-Fields, former CEO of Victoria’s Secret Direct — the model’s catalogue/on-line arm — claims: “In 1993 I used to be instructed a person was in New York portraying himself as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret fashions.
“I requested his identify and he or she stated Jeffrey Epstein and I assumed, boy, that is bother.
“I requested for Les (Wexner) to be known as instantly and he stated he would put an finish to it.”
But it surely didn’t put an finish to it as a result of different ladies inform how Epstein noticed the internationally recognised underwear model as a approach to attract ladies into his perverted world.
The well-connected New Yorker, who was additionally associates with Prince Andrew and the previous US president Invoice Clinton, began working for Wexner in 1986.
Epstein turned the clothes magnate’s most trusted cash man, with Wexner describing him as “very good with a mixture of fantastic judgement and unusually excessive requirements. Additionally, he’s all the time a most loyal pal.”
They have been so shut Wexner bought Epstein his non-public jet for a “beneath market worth” and his Manhattan townhouse.
Underneath Epstein’s possession the airplane could be nicknamed the Lolita Specific betrigger he used it to traffick younger women into the US.
Alicia Arden, an underwear mannequin and actress who had appeared in Baywatch, was lured to a resort in Santa Monica, to fulfill Epstein in 1997 as a result of he instructed her he labored for Victoria’s Secret.
However in the course of the business assembly, he instructed her to strip all the way down to her underwear, gave her $100 and “was touching my butt”.
She filed a police report however no prison motion was taken.
Frederique van der Wal, a long-time Victoria’s Secret mannequin, was stunned to listen to of different women being instructed to audition for Epstein.
She tells the sequence, which airs on the streaming channel Paramount+: “I bear in mind being on units and a woman saying ‘I’m requested to go see Jeffrey Epstein for Victoria’s Secret’.
“Why? It was by no means Victoria’s Secret that requested the women to go see Epstein, however he used it as a calling card.”
It was no shock so many younger hopefuls accepted the invitation.
A contract with Victoria’s Secret may very well be price thousands and thousands of kilos and assured instantaneous recognition.
Getting in on the act was sleazy French mannequin company boss Jean-Luc Brunel, who was lent $1million by Epstein in 2004 to arrange a New York agency known as MC2 Mannequin Administration.
Conchita Sarnoff, an anti-trafficking advocate, says: “Brunel bought the women’ visas they usually have been put up in one in every of Epstein’s residences. It allowed Epstein to deliver women legally into the US beneath the guise of modelling.”
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted in December of conspiracy to commit sexual abuse, was typically the primary individual the fashions spoke to.
Brunel was arrested on the finish of 2020 on allegations of rape and different sexual offences towards youngsters, however like Epstein, killed himself, in February, whereas awaiting trial.
Wexner’s attorneys insist that Brunel by no means had any reference to Victoria’s Secret.
Entrepreneur Wexner, 84, who purchased a sprawling nation property within the Cotswolds in 1997 and constructed an enormous property for himself in Albany, Ohio, in 1990, hardly ever provides interviews.
He appears to have been impressed to make it in enterprise after his clothes retailer proprietor dad instructed him “you’ll by no means be a service provider”.
Wexner arrange a retailer known as The Restricted in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, in 1963. Three years later his mother and father Harry and Bella bought their store and joined Les’s agency.
In 1982 he purchased Victoria’s Secret for £850,000 with the agency reportedly dealing with financial institutionruptcy. He turned it round with gross sales quadrupeling within the 4 years to 1990.
Wexner created a faux story {that a} “refined” English girl known as Victoria had arrange the shop.
On the entrance of the catalogues the ladies have been lined in robes.
However that “stylish” picture was ditched when the Victoria’s Secret Trend Present got here alongside in 1995. Ex-executive Cindy says: “I realised the unique Victoria had been killed off by the Angels. We moved right into a extra aggressive sexual standpoint.”
The garments bought skimpier and skimpier, which was powerful for the ladies anticipated to parade in them in entrance of rows of salivating males.
Frederique says: “For me personally it was fairly exposing. I used to be comfortable to go away, go residence and cry in a shower and say thank God I bought that over with.”
Whereas the model had as soon as struggled to draw one of the best identified fashions, stars immediately wished to placed on the well-known wings.
Heidi Klum stated: “It made me sort of a family identify.”
Wexner even employed Hollywood director Michael Bay to make an advert with supermodels strolling away from an explosion.
However Brazilian Adriana Lima, who was the lingerie model’s longest serving mannequin, stated: “You need to watch what you eat.”
And after #metoo emerged in 2016, exposing sexual harassment inside the leisure business, fashions began to complain about Ed Razek, who organised the TV specials.
An investigation by the New York Instances in 2020 reported a tradition of bullying and sexism beneath chief advertising officer Razek.
Former public relations staffer Casey Crowe Taylor tells the film-makers: “Ed’s assistant stated if I had a greenback for each time a sexual harassment case got here throughout my e-mail I’d be wealthy.
“Ed laughed. It was a really regular factor to make a joke like that.”
In a press release, Razek denied that allegation.
Different members of the Victoria’s Secret workforce have been stated to be a part of a poisonous work setting.
Whistleblower James Scully, a trend casting director, says: “It leaked that fashions have been being assaulted by photographers, that they have been being touched and grabbed in fittings and that different individuals within the Victoria’s Secret organisation have been making inappropriate feedback or getting too handsy with the women”.
Years later brokers instructed Scully they’d heard the rumours however continued to ship their feminine shoppers alongside to auditions understanding they have been in danger.
Stylist Victoria Bartlett, provides: “The tradition we have been in then was very completely different, you needed to sort of take a blind eye to it”.
The stunning sexualisation of youngsters via the corporate’s Pink model is portrayed because the second the flesh-obsessed Wexner went too far.
Mannequin Lyndsey Scott, who wore balloons relatively than garments throughout one of many Pink shoots, stated: “There have been quite a lot of unhealthy issues occurring”.
Fashions skimpily dressed as naughty policemen have been used to promote garments to younger teenagers, whereas underwear contained phrases akin to “name me”.
Now that period is over.
The Victoria’s Secret trend present led to 2019, Razek left the agency and Wexner took a backseat.
Final yr it turned a stand-alone firm and is constant to make cutbacks regardless of promoting greater than £1billion price of products within the first quarter of this yr.
These angels’ wings have undoubtedly been clipped.
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