History of Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret was founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond and his wife Gaye, who opened the first store at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. Raymond wanted to create a lingerie store where men would feel comfortable shopping for women, and the brand launched a mail-order catalogue alongside its stores.

In 1982, Leslie Wexner, founder of The Limited, acquired Victoria's Secret. Under his ownership, the brand shifted its focus toward women customers and expanded rapidly across shopping malls in the United States. It grew into the largest lingerie retailer in the country, supported by its catalogue, beauty products, and the PINK line aimed at younger customers.

From 1995, the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show became a major televised event, featuring its "Angels," including models such as Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, and Adriana Lima. However, by the late 2010s the brand faced criticism for its narrow beauty standards, falling sales, and controversies surrounding its leadership, including Wexner's widely reported ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The televised show was cancelled after 2018.

In 2021, Victoria's Secret was spun off from L Brands into a separate publicly traded company, Victoria's Secret & Co. It has since attempted to rebrand, working with more diverse models and ambassadors and revising its marketing approach. The fashion show returned in a new format in 2024, as the company continues efforts to regain its position in a lingerie market with growing competition.