Image credit: The Consumerist via WikiMedia Commons
Recently, we saw the Victoria’s Secret Angels hit the runway, but did you know about the devil behind the lace and sequins? Introducing the brand’s founder, Les Wexner, the billionaire that funded Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking ring and gave him access to countless women to sexually assault, while under the protection of fame and finance. This is the dark history behind Victoria’s secret, and why we should stop glorifying its front of beauty and glamour.
In 1987, Les Wexner created a retail empire by acquiring brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch. His business conglomerate would soon be corrupted, when he hired the undiscovered Jeffrey Epstein to be his personal financial manager, despite prior warnings against the partnership. The two quickly became inseparable and by 1991, Wexner gave Epstein power of attorney over all of his assets (worth roughly $1.8 billion) and remained that way until Epstein’s arrest in 2007. During this time, Epstein used Wexner’s money to fuel his lavish lifestyle, including the purchases of a private jet, a Manhattan townhouse, and the Palm Beach mansion - where a large proportion of his alleged assaults took place.
With Wexner’s money Epstein was able to build his world of criminality. Epstein preyed on one of his first reported victims while working under the guise of a Victoria’s Secret scout in 1997, when he offered Alicia Arden a job as a model. Epstein sexually assaulted Arden, telling her: “let me manhandle you”. This clearly illustrates that he used Wexner’s ownership of Victoria’s Secret and the protection with it to find connections that would enable his twisted exploitation and abuse of women. This then unfolded without question thanks to the funding of Wexner, with Epstein remaining in his trusted position, protected by financial security.
After Epstein’s crimes were exposed, Wexner’s involvement in the criminality was questioned, yet he has repeatedly denied all knowledge of Epstein’s behaviour. Wexner reportedly severed all ties with Epstein preceding the arrest by September 2007, but in 2008 he sent Epstein an email saying “Abigail [Wexner’s wife] told me the response”, “All I can say is I feel sorry. You violated your own number 1 rule…Always be careful”. This exposed ongoing communications between the two even after Epstein became a convicted sex offender, calls into question the value of supporting a brand with such an untrustworthy, and potentially corrupt, founder.
So when the world's most famous fashion show makes headlines for its designer lingerie and beautiful women, rather than the disturbing truth behind the bras - evidence of abuse, corruption, and exploitation - What are we to do?
Recent social media virality suggests the public have stopped caring. Victoria’s Secret was originally cancelled in 2019 for the financial problems surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and Les Wexner, on top of its countless diversity scandals and public backlash due to their continued failure to make lingerie inclusive for its customers. Worse yet, Les Wexner didn’t step down as the owner of Victoria’s Secret until 2020, following the death of Jeffrey Epstein. This highlights the wider debate surrounding whether or not the public should continue supporting brands which possess such strong ties to abusers, seen additionally with Super-Dry who’s co-founder was recently convicted of rape.
To me, the question doesn’t seem so simple. When considering that many clothing brands have a dark history beneath them, it seems hard to single this one out. Yet, I believe Victoria’s Secret has this story well-hidden by the blinding image of beauty and ‘female empowerment’ projected by the brand. It is definitely not something that should be so widely praised, especially when the victims of assault are continuously looked over by the media, while fighting so hard for recognition. Personally, I will never be convinced by the denial of Wexner, it seems impossible that he was unaware of the wrongdoings within and among his company. It begs the question: why are people still choosing to support and buy from such a brand?
Now we are left with only the Angels to decide if the Devils actions are remembered, all of them working hard to keep Victoria’s best kept secret - Jeffrey Epstein.