A number of protesters staged a demonstration outside the Victoria’s Secret store on Oxford Circus, London.
The group of women were protesting against the fashion industry’s lack of diversity, and were reportedly walking through the store chanting ‘fashion has failed us’. Another woman carried a placard reading ‘we want diversity for all brands’, while another sign used the hashtag ‘fallen angels’.
The protest comes just days after the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which took place in New York earlier this week.
The show had already courted controversy after the brand’s chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, dismissed calls for the inclusion of plus-sized and trans models. He later issued an apology for his remarks.
Other signs at the protest read ‘Embracing every body type’ and ‘We want equality at Victoria’s Secret’, as MailOnline reports.
Videos posted on social media show the group of women getting changed into their underwear in the store, before marching through the shop.
The display appears to have been organised in collaboration with clothing brand Nunude.
Posting on Instagram, they wrote:
So today this happened – Nunude the first UK diverse brand proving skin tone underwear for ALL women collaborated with @love_disfigure campaigners of diversity.
We the Fallen Angels went to @victoriassecret and Oxford Circus – to demand more diversity! It’s not just about body Diversity or skin! It’s about every single difference! We are all equal! We are all loved and we are all beautiful.
While Love Disfigure, the campaign group also behind the protest, wrote:
Amazing Day shared with my lovely friends Fallen Angels campaigning for Diversity in the Fashion Industry.
We march into @victoriassecret and stripped down to our @nunnude_official underwear shouting we want diversity on our runways.
Then found ourselves in the middle of Oxford street calling for Change within the fashion industry.
After the annual Victoria’s Secret show, Ed Razek was asked about diversity on the catwalk.
Speaking to Vogue, he said:
It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is.
Razek later apologised for his remarks, however, saying:
My remark regarding the inclusion of transgender models in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show came across as insensitive. I apologise.
To be clear, we absolutely would cast a transgender model for the show. We’ve had transgender models come to castings… And like many others, they didn’t make it… But it was never about gender.
I admire and respect their journey to embrace who they really are.
The singer Halsey, who performed at the Victoria’s Secret show, also addressed the comments.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote:
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity, especially not on motivated by stereotype.
The latest Victoria’s Secret show had its lowest viewing figures ever, at 3.27 million, the smallest since the show began in 2001.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.