Podcast Summary: Today, Explained – "Victoria’s Secret wants you back" (October 17, 2025)

Main Theme & Episode Overview

This episode explores the attempted comeback of Victoria’s Secret. Once an iconic fashion and entertainment brand, its reputation and business faltered in recent years due to shifting cultural values, declining relevance, and damaging scandals—including its ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Hosts Noel King, Lauren Sherman, and guest Amy O'Dell (fashion journalist) delve into the brand's historic rise, cultural decline, and evolving efforts to regain public favor in 2025.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 2025 Fashion Show: Nostalgia and Reinvention (02:08–10:14)

• Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Returns: The 2025 show draws on the company’s tradition of spectacle and celebrity. Notable models and musical acts are featured to rekindle the event's "Super Bowl for women" status.

• Nostalgic Elements: The company brought back famous "angels" like Adriana Lima and Candice Swanpoel, which sparked strong feelings of nostalgia among fans and insiders.

• Entertainment as Core DNA: Amy O’Dell highlights how Victoria’s Secret redefined fashion shows as entertainment, pioneering televised runway events with added musical performances.

  "The Victoria's Secret fashion show really architected the idea of fashion as entertainment."
  — Amy O’Dell (02:29)

• Modern Additions: The brand embraced more diverse models and body types in the 2025 show, but the aesthetic remained glitzy, "done," and reminiscent of the 2000s heyday—a notable contrast to current fashion’s preference for comfort and realism.

• Audience Reception: Audiences seemed split—some celebrated the nostalgia, others questioned whether returning to this form of spectacle was progress or regression.

  "I think that they know that they need to get back to that place, but they don't know how to make it cool."
  — Amy O’Dell (00:44)

2. The Rise of Victoria’s Secret: American Retail Innovation (14:26–17:40)

• Founding Story: Roy and Gay Raymond, inspired by discomfort around buying lingerie, founded the company in the late 1970s with the aim to make luxury lingerie accessible and approachable.

  "[Roy] was trying to find things that made people uncomfortable, comfortable and make them more comfortable."
  — Lauren Sherman (14:44)

• Rapid Scaling: Leslie Wexner of Limited Brands bought the business and transformed it into a billion-dollar empire, focusing on upscale branding and large-scale retail.

• The Fashion Show as Media Event: Starting in the late ’90s, the show became a pop culture event; entire families would watch. Wexner, influenced by Hollywood, transformed Victoria’s Secret into a media powerhouse.

  "[He] turned Victoria’s Secret into a media brand ... It was something that like whole families would gather around together and watch."
  — Lauren Sherman (16:50)

3. Cultural Backlash and Decline (17:40–22:57)

• Changing Tastes: By the 2010s, Victoria’s Secret’s brand of sexiness felt outdated and increasingly criticized for objectifying women and lacking diversity. Executives—often male—resisted adapting to new norms.

  "The parent company was run by men and they just decided, no, this is what we think is sexy, and we're gonna keep it that way."
  — Lauren Sherman (18:34)

• Controversial Statements: CMO Ed Razek’s 2018 remarks dismissing trans and plus-size models fueled backlash and highlighted institutional resistance to inclusivity.

  "Razek used the word transsexual ... and said that trans and plus size women do not exemplify the fantasy Victoria’s Secret is trying to sell."
  — Amy O’Dell (18:51)

• Scandal – Epstein Connection: The brand’s decline accelerated after media exposed Wexner’s close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who had business power of attorney and attended fashion shows.

  "Wexner had a very long standing relationship with the one and only Jeffrey Epstein ... and Epstein’s rise and fall sort of coincides with the Wexner and the Victoria’s Secret rise and fall."
  — Lauren Sherman (19:53)

• Leadership Overhaul: Activist investors pushed for board changes. Wexner eventually exited, and Victoria’s Secret came under new management.

4. The Struggle to Regain Relevance (10:14–10:48, 22:57–25:30)

• Rebranding Efforts: Under new creative direction, Victoria’s Secret’s comeback show strove for inclusivity—featuring a variety of body types, ethnicities, and genders. This was visible both on the runway and through diverse musical performances (Missy Elliott and a K-pop band).

  "It was incredibly inclusive, incredibly diverse in terms of body size, ethnicity, gender even. But it also didn’t feel forced ... it just felt like this reflects what the culture looks like right now."
  — Lauren Sherman (23:18)

• Questions of Impact: Despite positive critical response, speakers doubt whether this shift will reinvigorate sales or cultural influence.

  "Does anyone care? Is this worth it? Will this drive sales? ... Whether or not that’s gonna move the needle for them is another question."
  — Lauren Sherman (24:20)

• Brand Purpose Redefined: Sherman notes the shifting idea of whom Victoria’s Secret aims to please—once husbands, then society, now the wearer herself.

  "The core of Victoria's Secret was to make women feel good. And that used to mean pleasing your husband and then it meant pleasing society. And now it means pleasing yourself."
  — Lauren Sherman (24:45)

• Lingering Questions: While the show was more inclusive, the basic premise—a lingerie spectacle—still feels alien to some contemporary sensibilities.

  "It's still why are we showing women walking around in lingerie on a runway? It's so crazy and silly. But I think they did the best job of reflecting, like, actual reality, which most marketers cannot do."
  — Lauren Sherman (25:14)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Nostalgia:
  “We are so fucking back. My inner child who grew up with Victoria's Secret in the fashion shows is healed.”
  — Lauren Sherman (05:15)

• On Cultural Regression:
  “It was men in suits who looked like they came up from Wall Street. ... It's just so atypical to see that type of person at any fashion show.”
  — Amy O’Dell (08:16)

• On Attempted Relevance:
  “I don't think it has a grasp on culture or its place in culture. ... I saw a lot of people saying, you know, why are we still doing this? Why are we back to this?”
  — Amy O’Dell (10:14)

• On Modernizing the Brand:
  “What Victoria's Secret did was show every kind of beauty. ... It's not perfect ... but I think they did the best job of reflecting, like, actual reality, which most marketers cannot do.”
  — Lauren Sherman (25:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01–02:08 – Introduction to the 2025 fashion show, past and present perceptions
• 02:08–05:29 – Review of this year’s show: models, celebrities, nostalgia
• 05:29–10:14 – What made past shows an event, and comparisons with past eras
• 10:14–10:48 – Does Victoria’s Secret understand current culture?
• 14:26–17:40 – Founding story, Wexner’s takeover, transformation into a media spectacle
• 17:40–22:57 – Cultural backlash, Ed Razek remarks, Jeffrey Epstein scandal, leadership shakeup
• 22:57–25:30 – New efforts for inclusivity, questioning the future relevance of Victoria’s Secret

Tone & Style

The podcast balances a tone of critical reflection, industry insider intimacy, and cultural analysis. The speakers mix wit, candor, and nostalgia as they dissect both the highs and lows of Victoria’s Secret’s evolving legacy.

Summary prepared for listeners who haven’t heard the episode:

This episode provides a thorough, lively look at the forces shaping Victoria’s Secret’s rise, collapse, and attempted reinvention in 2025. It’s essential listening for anyone interested in the intersection of fashion, culture, and corporate redemption.