Bella Hadid explains why she chose to return to working with Victoria’s Secret

‘Victoria’s Secret has changed so drastically,’ says model

(Getty Images)

Bella Hadid has returned to working with Victoria’s Secret.

The 25-year-old model, who has walked in three fashion shows for the lingerie brand, stopped working with the company in 2020 when its former chief, Ed Razek, was accused of inappropriate conduct (which he denied) and stepped down.

Razek served as chief marketing officer at the US lingerie label’s parent company, L Brands, having joined in 1983. He was credited for being a driving force behind Victoria’s Secret‘s annual fashion show.

In October, a previous employee at the lingerie company, Casey Crowe Taylor, said Razek would often make “inappropriate compliments” about models.

Crowe Taylor, who worked in the company’s public relations department, said she witnessed Razek ask models to sit on his lap during photoshoots.

“The other really awkward thing he would do on set was with other grown professional men, men with daughters, men with children, where he would make them look at and compliment this half-naked 20-year-old-model,” she said.

Hadid was just one of the models who chose to cut ties with Victoria’s Secret last year but has now revealed that she is rejoining the company under its new leadership as part of the Victoria’s Secret Collective, which forms part its rebranding to reclassify what “sexy” means.

Other women to have joined the Victoria’s Secret Collective include Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Megan Rapinoe, Naomi Osaka, and Hailey Bieber.

“What magnetized me to coming back was them coming to me and really proving to me that, behind the scenes, Victoria’s Secret has changed so drastically,” Hadid told Marie Claire of what she called a “very complicated” decision.

“[Joining the VS Collective] was really about taking my power back and having the power over my body be released to myself again,” she added.

Hadid went on to say that the fact there are now more women employed at the company at a senior level means she feels more comfortable working there.

“There was a type of way that, I think, a lot of us women who used to work with Victoria’s Secret felt. And now, six of the seven [VS] board members are all female,” she said.

“And there’s new photoshoot protocols that we have. So a lot has changed. I feel like the world really deserves a brand like Victoria’s Secret and to also feel represented by it as well.”