Victoria's Secret: Is it still relevant?

(www.marketing91.com)

Hey everyone!  Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving and the Black Friday onslaught?  You know you're gonna do some shopping!  We all need some shopping therapy sometimes!  Just don't go into debt!! Speaking of shopping, I'm sure some of you will go to the famous Victoria's Secret stores for some deals.  However, my question is, is it still relevant today as more women are turning away from the brand and look elsewhere?  Still, it's an iconic brand that still promotes the image of sensuality and sexiness which can be a great thing and also its downfall.  

Ahh, Victoria's Secret! The brand that exudes sexiness and glamour in womanhood, even if it's not realistic. Growing up in the 90s, I wanted all things Vickies, mainly because at the time, its bras and underwear were pretty good!  I also looked forward to VS catalogs, not just for underwear but also clothing, shoes and bathing suits.  Not to mention the supermodels including Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, and Gisele Bundchen among others, graced many covers of the catalog.   I lived vicariously through the catalogs, imagining myself, chilling on the beach in a sexy bikini and looking glamorous!  At the time I couldn't afford most of the stuff there but one can dream. 

So a brief history of Victoria's Secret.  It was founded by Roy Raymond and his wife Gaye Raymond in San Francisco, California on June 12, 1977.  Raymond admitted that he was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife.  He noted that some of the underwear was not good quality and he felt like an intruder when shopping for women's underwear.  As a result, he founded the company, Victoria's Secret, named after Queen Victoria of England, the secret was basically underwear, while Angels, a sub-brand of VS was named after his wife's sorority Pi Beta Phi where its mascot was an angel (Wikipedia).  Raymond wanted his brand to reflect a refine and sexy image compared to other brands such as Hanes and Fruit of the Loom, which although practical and comfortable, was not appealing to the eyes so to speak.  He also maintained catalogs but keep in mind it was more for a male gaze than for a woman's benefit. 

In 1982, Raymond sold his brand to Leslie Wexner, owner of the Limited Brand which includes Bath and Body Works and Pink.  In 1983, the dynamic of the brand changed which would be more successful later on.  He put more emphasis on female customers, by replacing male-oriented catalogs to cater to women.  It also added glamour to the brand and revamped its stores, inspired by 19th century England (Wikipedia).  

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Adding supermodels to the brand also adds to its appeal.  For some models, it was a right of passage to be recognized as one of Victoria's Secret "Angels,"  therefore creating more exposure for the brand.  The catalogs also added clothing and bathing suits.  VS also went further and created Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on August 1st, 1995 to reach more viewers and more profits, which worked for a while.  Honestly, I'm not a fan of the fashion show, the costumes were too tacky for my taste and I really didn't get to see much lingerie.  It was more in line with a Carnival band launch in Trinidad and Tobago than a fashion show.  

(www.dailyhive.com)

Unfortunately, good things must come to an end and VS is no exception.  After the successful 80s and 90s, Victoria's Secret saw a gradual decline in profits especially in the age of the internet and social media.  In 2016 alone, sales only grew by 1.6%, especially around the holiday season.  Victoria's Secret also discontinued its catalog publication and dropped clothing and swimwear.  When I heard about this, my heart sank.  Catalogs were always part of Victoria's Secret brand and seeing it discontinued was very disappointing but not surprising as sales continued to plummet.  Victoria's Secret is also closing 53 stores across the country this year.  Lastly, Victoria's Secret decided to cancel its annual fashion show (praise the Lord) this month on the 21st. 


So what went wrong?  I believed that social media played a role. Body positivity is the thing these days (well it can be a good thing or is it being realistic?) and many women, especially the younger generation are getting tired of the unrealistic portrayals of women in brands such as Victoria's Secret.  Women were often portrayed as slim, with large breasts in some cases.  Also, the majority are white women, there were some black women and hardly any Asian women.  Then there was a controversial statement made by CMO Ed Razek, who claimed that the company doesn't cast transgender or plus-size models in its fashion show because the show is a "fantasy."  You have to keep in mind the show is also for the male gaze and honestly do you think most men want to see a transgendered or plus-size model? Even though Victoria's Secret is catered to women, there is still a male mindset in regards to womanhood, albeit unrealistic; slim women with long hair and large boobs. And the fashion industry still caters to the slimmer and paler persuasion even though slowly but surely, changes are coming.  

I also think that some of the lingerie lacked quality and looked very complicated.  Could you imagine wearing lingerie for your significant other and you had to be a scientist just to take it off?  That's how impractical its lingerie is.  Other brands such as Aerie and Rihanna's Savage X Fenty began promoting more realistic images of women and as a result, women began shopping in those brands in droves.  Rihanna even hosted a fashion show during New York Fashion Week and it was also shown on Amazon Prime Video. I'm not a fan of the show, it's too brash for my taste but it appealed to the younger generation, showing realistic bodies, which is something VS is lacking.  

Victoria's Secret is still an iconic brand and I even enjoyed my time working there.  However, if it wants to stay around for the long run, it has to adapt to the rapidly changing times.  Many stores such as Forever 21 are closing stores home and abroad because of this and hopefully, Victoria's Secret wouldn't get the same fate.  Maybe it's time that Victoria's Secret accept more realistic women's bodies and promote more diversity in its brand.   It should still be sexy and glamorous but also practical and comfy.  I still love Victoria's Secret, it such a famous brand and it's still a leader in the lingerie market.  However, it needs to make quick changes if it wants to stay alive in such a rapidly changing environment.   

Demona: The Tortured Villain

Wikipedia.com

Ahh, Demona, the most antagonizing and dangerous villain in the Gargoyles universe.  A gargoyle who experienced pain and inflicted pain on others.  Demona is one of my favorite characters in the series; not just a badass villain, but a villain who experienced pain in her immortal life that it's hard not to feel sorry for her.

www.gargoyles.wikia.com

Just a little background on Demona. She was born or hatched in 938 near Castle Wyvern, Scotland. She didn't have a name then as was customary in the gargoyle community, although she was called "Angel of the Night" by Goliath as she got older.  "Angel" and Goliath became lovers and also his second in command as an elder gargoyle, later called Hudson relinquished his leadership to Goliath.  Well, it's time for retirement why not?  Although, I think Demona had a hand in it somehow.  Not to say Goliath wasn't a good leader, but I think Demona has her own plans when moving up the ranks and eventually controlling the gargoyle clan, instead of just simply leading.  She also had a curiosity for magic and she was a student of the Archmage, who treated her very harshly. He even made her steal the Phoenix Gate, a magical object which can carry its user to another dimension or even go to the future or the past.  "Angel" however decided to keep it to herself, breaking a piece of the gate, giving it to Goliath as a token of her love.  "Angel" became a capable leader in her own right but she grew frustrated with the mistreatment from the humans.  Hey, ungrateful humans, about a little thank you?  No wonder she was pissed.  She even expressed her frustrations to Goliath and he simply said that humans fear what they don't understand.  


Taking matters in her own hands, "Angel" and the Captain of the Guard plotted to betray the humans to the Vikings.  Their plan was to get rid of the humans so that the gargoyle clan can live in the castle in peace.  They even tried to convince Goliath to let the gargoyles leave while the Vikings attack the castle but Goliath insisted on protecting the castle and its inhabitants from the attacks.  The plan eventually went downhill, when the Captain allowed the Vikings to attack in the daytime.  As I mentioned in my last post, the gargoyles are vulnerable when they are turned into stone, therefore making them defenseless against the Vikings.  The interesting thing is, that she didn't even warn the rest of the clan, already putting their lives in danger.  The Vikings invaded the castle and massacred the majority of the clan. Goliath and the elder gargoyle (Hudson) arrived too late to save the clan and both were overcome with grief.  Goliath, thinking that Demona was killed, was in huge despair, probably blaming himself for the destruction of the clan.  Thankfully, a few gargoyles survived and then Goliath and his clan were put in eternal sleep by the Magus, perhaps as a way of exile for him and his clan.  Demona, seeing all this decided to blame the humans instead of taking responsibility for the massacre (gargwiki.net). 

Demona, yuh getting old lady! (gargoyles.wikia.net)

Now, "Angel" held her hatred for humans for centuries.  With no place to go to since Castle Wyvern is gone, "Angel" led a few gargoyles on a hunt for food and a safe space, while trying to avoid the genocidal humans at that point with little success.  With the numbers dwindling and increasing her paranoia against humans, "Angel" was desperate for a way to maintain her clan and also reclaim her youth so she can maintain her power over the gargoyles.   That's where Macbeth comes in.  He himself was entangled in a web of murder and betrayal in the royal household.  The murder of his father, Lord Findleach by the assassin Gillecomgain,  really had him nervous as he may be next.  What he didn't know was that his cousin King Duncan set the whole thing up as a way to get rid of the competition so to speak.  I would not want to be a royal in those days!  Insomnia for days!!!

www.gargwiki.net

Desperate for help, both "Angel" and Macbeth made a pact with the Weird Sisters, granting them immortality, yet Macbeth had to sacrifice his youth in order for Angel to regain her strength and youthfulness.  Talk about using and abusing people.  Together, they were able to defeat King Duncan and sent his son Canmore to England.  Noticing her fighting prowess, Macbeth remarked, "you fight like a demon." After the battle, Macbeth became king and made "Angel" his advisor.  He even named her Demona, which pleased her.  She would definitely live up to her name, unfortunately.  As they say, all things must come to an end.  Remember Canmore? Well, he's all grown up and ready to take his revenge on his uncle Macbeth and the Gargoyles.  With the help of the English, Canmore has taken most of Scotland and quickly advanced to Castle Moray.  Heavily surrounded, Macbeth and his advisors planned a course of action.  One of his advisors stated that they should abandon the gargoyles in favor of the English. Demona overheard this and in her paranoia, decided to betray Macbeth to Canmore and the English, believing that he was abandoning her and her clan.  Macbeth was defeated and "killed" and all of the Gargoyles except Demona are killed.  Again not taking responsibility for her actions, fled Scotland for good with an intense hatred for humans.  

Throughout the centuries, Demona laid low, plotting and scheming to destroy humans once and for all.  I guess patience really paid off because she had her chance to do so in the 20th century, in 1994 to be exact, when Goliath and his clan were awakened from their 1000 year slumber.  The clan was shocked and glad that Demona survived, not realizing the pain she endured throughout the centuries.  Happy to see them again, or maybe use them for her own plans, Demona convinced Goliath and the clan to raid Xanatos' rival company Cyberbiotics but in doing so, revealed her true self to Goliath, in which he found disturbing after trying to kill the humans during the raid.  Trying to convince Goliath and the clan that humans have to pay for what they have done to the gargoyles, she indirectly admitted she was the cause of the Wyvern massacre which caused shock and disbelief among the Gargoyles.  Goliath took it pretty hard and decided to abandon Demona.  Let's just say miss lady snapped and decided to kill the gargoyles because hey, it's my way or the highway.  Thanks to their human friend Elisa, the gargoyles were saved but Demona remained a thorn on their side ever since. 

(gargoyles.wikia.net)

Demona is definitely a loose cannon but she is a product of her surroundings.  Her negative experiences with the humans clouded her judgment, causing destruction in her wake.  So much so she became genocidal, killing humans when they turned to stone under her spell.  One good deed deserves another.  It's payback for the genocide inflicted on the gargoyles.  They say revenge is a dish served cold but in her case, the revenge is hot.  Her thirst for revenge caused a cycle of violence over the centuries, even led to the creation of the Hunter and future generations of Hunters, trying to track her down and kill her.  Even Macbeth donned the mask of the Hunter and "kindly" reminded her of her violence and treachery.  Demona must have things her way, especially where gargoyles are concerned, and surprisingly wouldn't hesitate to kill a gargoyle to do so.  Like I said, all she wants is power and she will go to great lengths to do so, even stepping over her fellow gargoyles and humans to achieve this.  Ironically, she was the cause of the gargoyles' genocide but using humans as a scapegoat to hide her guilt.  Will she be honest with herself and right the wrongs she has done? Only time will tell, perhaps with her newfound daughter, she can change for the better.  However, I understand where she is coming from.  Demona and her kind have been discriminated against for centuries just for being different.  Very similar to the negative experiences blacks and other people have to endure just for being different.  This can lead to frustration which is still evident today.  Yet, even as she tried to achieve her objective, she has done this alone.  She had no one to turn to, no one to trust and no one to love.  This is the price she had to pay for her madness.  Loneliness can have a strange effect on one's psyche and in her case, it drove her mad.  Demona is a tragic figure and we can only pity her.   Demona is her own worst enemy and it will be her downfall.  

Gargoyles!!!

www.comettv.com

Hello, my lovelies!  It's been a while I know and I'll try to be consistent from now on but no promises though.  By now you've heard that Disney's streaming service, Disney+ is out and most of their shows including classic movies such as Cinderella and Snow White.  There were even cartoon shows such as TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck on there, including X-Men.  I'll talk about the X-Men soon!  The one show, I'm happy that Disney is showing on its website is Gargoyles! I was like, amen and Hallelujer!!!  One of my favorite cartoon series is back!  Gargoyles is a Disney animated series that was aired from 1994 to 1997 with three seasons. It features six gargoyles led by Goliath, a large and hunky purple gargoyle and as the series progressed, more gargoyles and their human counterparts were added.  Betrayed by humans in ancient Scotland, the gargoyles were put to sleep by a spell, only to be awakened again in New York City in the 90s!  Stone by day, warriors by night, the gargoyles decided to protect their new home with the help of their human friend Elisa Maza while trying to find their place in it, all the while, enduring the centuries-long hate from the humans.  Not to mention they have to deal with their nemeses,  David Xanatos, an amoral and a wealthy man and a vengeful female gargoyle named Demona. Spoilers ahead!

I saw some of the episodes while in Trinidad and I was very intrigued!  I didn't get to see all of the episodes, unfortunately, especially when there were chores around.  I had to admit, a show about gargoyles in New York City was rather strange to me.  However, the combination of New York City's charm and ancient mythology (and really great writing), the show was a success.  I didn't even know that it was part of Disney.  Disney is known for promoting happy endings or in the case of cartoons, a happy go lucky mentality.  It was really surprising that Disney decided to create a dark and more mature cartoon which mentions the ills of society, especially racism and discrimination.  The show was created by Greg Weisman and it includes the writers Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler Reaves among others in the series.  The Gargoyles series were supposed to be created in a similar vein of cartoons such as Darkwing Duck with a comedic flair but Greg and his crew decided to go to a darker route instead.   

David Xanatos and Goliath (www.gargwiki.net)

The first season was basically an introduction to the main characters in the series.  It was also about the gargoyles adaptation to their new world.  Even the names of the gargoyles, Hudson the elder (beige), Brooklyn, the second in command (red), Broadway, the overeater (light green), Lexington the tech genius (green) and Bronx, the dog-like gargoyle (dark blue), symbolizes this adaptation and even create their own identity.   It's rather interesting that Goliath was the only gargoyle named, while his friends remained nameless in the past.  Maybe it has to do with his size or his leadership ability.  David Xanathos was introduced as a villain immediately in the series and he was fun to watch.  He wanted the gargoyles to work under him but he showed his true colors once they realized he was not to be trusted. Plus thanks to Elisa Maza, a detective, who did some background check on Xanatos so she wasn't falling for the BS either.  The female gargoyle Demona was also introduced or reintroduced to the clan including Goliath who all believed that she died in the massacre long ago.  I forgot to mention earlier that the majority of the gargoyles were massacred by the Vikings and sadly, Demona had a hand in it.  Macbeth, no not that Macbeth, was also introduced in the season but we'll see more of him in season 2. 

Goliath and Demona (www.pinterest.com)

Goliath and Elisa Masa (www.blacknerdproblems.com)

Season 2 really showed the growth and depth of the characters, especially Goliath and Elisa.  We get to see the reason for Demona's hatred for humans.  After all, they hated the sight of gargoyles and they often take for granted the loyalty and protection the gargoyles offered the humans.  In the past, Goliath and Demona were lovers but they often have different views in dealing with humans.  Goliath wants to take a pragmatic and holistic approach while Demona wants to get rid of the humans so she and the other gargoyles can live in peace.  She almost had the chance when she and the human captain of the guard planned to have the Vikings attack Castle Wyvern and drive the humans away.  Unfortunately, however, the Vikings realizing that the gargoyles are vulnerable once they turned into stone, destroyed them.  Only a few survived, including Demona who couldn't believe what she had done.  Instead of taking some of the blame, she decided to take her anger out on the humans and have done so over the centuries, plotting and planning to get her revenge one way or another.  She and Macbeth, both tragic individuals were also connected.  Demona and Macbeth made a bargain with the Wierd Sisters, giving both Demona and Macbeth immortality.  However, Macbeth has to give up his youth, while Demona regained her strength and youthful appearance.  They worked together for a while, maintaining peace between humans and gargoyles alike.  Eventually, Demona betrayed Macbeth, believing he was about to betray her and her kind, left him to fend his enemies by himself.  Also, we get to meet other gargoyles from around the world including Goliath's and Demona's daughter Angela, one of many young gargoyles saved from the massacre. 


Season 3 I didn't watch because the season didn't even show in Trinidad so I didn't have an idea.  I'll have to watch the show on Disney plus to find out.  It was a great series and too bad it only lasted three seasons.  Nonetheless, it had a cult following and hopefully, there will be a season 4.  Maybe?  The complexities of the characters are worth watching, even the villains, Demona especially. There's even a budding romance between Goliath and Elisa, well bacchanal start :)!  It's also cool that some of the voice actors, Marina Sirtis (Demona) and Jonathan Frakes (Xanatos) came from Star Trek: The Next Generation. How cool is that?!   Also, Salli Richardson did an excellent job voicing Elisa Maza and Keith David as Goliath, (Lord, that's a deep and sexy voice).  

Gargoyles was ahead of its time and it dealt with a lot of serious issues in society, including discrimination/racism, gun violence and even gun smuggling! It also showed teamwork, love and empathy for both gargoyles and humans and also tragic consequences of trying to get revenge.  All this heavy stuff in a kids' show! Anyway, if you never see the show please go watch it, it's worth it and quite frankly a classic.  So please check it out and it's on Disney +, although right now it has many issues at the moment.