Victoria’s Secret has hired its first transgender model, Valentina Sampaio.
The 23-year-old Brazilian model posted a picture of herself on Instagram last Thursday, tagging the lingerie brand and including the hashtags #vspink, #campaign and #diversity.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0oDsqnC2am
Orange Is the New Black actress Laverne Cox commented on the post “Wow finally!” while Victoria’s Secret model Lais Ribeiro tweeted “First transgender to shoot with Vs! This make me so happy!”
Days later, she posted a video of herself with the caption “Never stop dreaming genteee” and the hashtags #staytuned, #vspink and #diversity, leading to speculation that she had been hired by the brand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0q8V_XCOgG
Her agent Erio Zanon confirmed on Monday that Sampaio had been hired by Victoria’s Secret for a campaign for its PINK line to be released in mid-August.
The news comes less than a week after rumours started circulating that the 2019 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show might be cancelled after model Shanina Shaik said the show “won’t be happening this year”.
The brand has yet to confirm or deny the claims but in May they announced the fashion show would no longer be broadcast on TV, as CEO of Victoria’s Secret parent company Les Wexner said the corporation has “decided to rethink the traditional Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Going forward, we don’t believe network television is the right fit”.
Victoria’s Secret previously received criticism back in November over controversial comments made by their chief marketing officer Ed Razek about transgender models, who didn’t think the brand should include “transsexuals” in its show.
“Why not? Because the show is a fantasy”, Razek said. “It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is”.
He later apologised for his comments in a statement published on the Victoria’s Secret Twitter account, writing: “My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show came across as insensitive. I apologize” and clarified that they would “absolutely cast a transgender model for the show”.
#Peace.Love.ValentinaSampaio
