Victoria’s Secret announces Never Have I Ever star Darren Barnet as its first-ever MALE ambassador and the new face of PINK’s gender-free line
- Barnet, 30, models tie-dye separates, logo T-shirts, and other loungewear in the new campaign that was launched on social media on Tuesday
- The announcement comes a little over a year after PINK introduced its gender-neutral line in February 2021
- Barnet shared the news with his 2.3 million followers on his Instagram Stories, saying he ‘could not be more stoked about it’
- As part of the partnership, he will promote the PINK’s gender-free collection and participate in the brand’s mental health initiatives for empowering young adults
- Victoria’s Secret has been working to revamp its image in recent years after facing competition from retailers with more inclusive marketing strategies
- In 2021, the brand got rid of its roster of thin Victoria’s Secret Angels and replaced them with the VS Collective, a diverse group of spokeswomen
Actor Darren Barnet has partnered with Victoria’s Secret as the new face of PINK’s gender-free collection, making history as the lingerie brand’s first-ever male ambassador.
The ‘Never Have I Ever’ star, 30, models tie-dye separates, logo T-shirts, and other loungewear in the new campaign that was launched on social media on Tuesday, a little over a year after PINK introduced its gender-neutral line in February 2021.
Barnet shared the news with his 2.3 million followers on his Instagram Stories while wearing one of the brand’s tie-dye sweatshirts.
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Darren Barnet has made history as Victoria’ Secret PINK’s first-ever male ambassador
The 30-year-old is the new face of PINK’s gender-free collection of loungewear
Barnet models tie-dye separates, logo T-shirts, and shorts in the new campaign that was launched on social media on Tuesday
‘I’m excited to be a part,’ he said. ‘They’re focusing a lot on mental health awareness, inclusivity, community. I could not be more stoked about it, and I will be helping to launch more styles in their gender-free collection.’
As part of the partnership, he will promote the PINK’s gender-free collection — including his favorite products — and be the face of the brand’s upcoming fleece shirt jacket launch this fall.
Barnet will also participate in PINK’s initiatives for fostering positive mental health and empowering young adults as part of its continued commitment to inclusivity.
‘I love the work that PINK is doing — especially their focus on community and mental health — so I’m really honored to be a part of this team,’ he said in a statement.
The heartthrob explained that filming his Netflix series has reminded him of his high school days, as well as the ‘insecurities and issues that we face as young adults.’
‘I know how it feels to not fit in, and how important it is to feel supported and accepted for who you are,’ he shared.
PINK spokesperson Brooke Wilson told the New York Post that while the brand has tapped male influencers for the gender-free line, Barnet is the first male celebrity to sign on as an ambassador.
The ‘Love Hard’ actor said he is a fan of the collection but admitted he wasn’t sure what he signed up for as part of the partnership
A post shared by Victoria’s Secret PINK (@vspink)
Victoria’s Secret PINK shared a behind-the-scenes video of Barnet during his shoot to celebrate the collaboration
‘We are so excited to announce this partnership because Darren is such a positive role model for teens and young adults,’ PINK CEO Amy Hauk said in a statement
Barnet joins fellow PINK ambassadors Chloe and Halle Bailey, the R&B singing sisters known as Chloe x Halle, and TikTok star Remi Bader
‘Upon first glance, I wasn’t very educated on the gender-free collection,’ he told Us Weekly. ‘I was like, “Am I going to be wearing underwear? Like, lingerie?” Then, they showed me the line, and I was like, “Wow, that’s definitely [stuff I’d be wearing].”‘
Barnet joins fellow PINK ambassadors Chloe and Halle Bailey, the R&B singing sisters known as Chloe x Halle, and TikTok star Remi Bader.
‘We are so excited to announce this partnership because Darren is such a positive role model for teens and young adults,’ PINK CEO Amy Hauk said in a statement.
‘As we focus on expanding our gender-free offerings and continue to evolve as a brand, we want to ensure our partners not only represent the diversity of our customers, but also embody individuality and self-confidence.’
The ‘Never Have I Ever’ star shared the news with his 2.3 million followers on his Instagram Stories, saying he ‘could not be more stoked about it’
Barnet (pictured in August) admitted to Us Weekly he wasn’t ‘very educated on the gender-free collection’ and wondered if he was going to model lingerie at first but added he’s a fan of the clothes
Victoria’s Secret has been working to revamp its image over the past couple of years after facing stiff competition from newer lingerie retailers with more inclusive marketing strategies.
In 2021, the brand got rid of its roster of thin Victoria’s Secret Angels and replaced them with the VS Collective, a diverse lineup of spokeswomen who share a goal of promoting positive change.
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, trans model Valentina Sampaio, plus-size model Paloma Elsesser, and journalist Amanda de Cadenet were among the founding members.
Fallen Angels: How Victoria’s Secret went from a global phenomenon and the lingerie of choice for the world’s biggest stars to a brand fighting to stay relevant
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 by U.S. businessman Roy Raymond, who set up a small chain of boudoir lingerie shops when he couldn’t find any man-friendly women’s stores.
In 1982, he sold the company to clothing magnate Les Wexner for $1 million — a fraction of its current value. Raymond later died by suicide after jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
He chose the name Victoria after Queen Victoria, thinking it sounded refined, and added Secret to refer to what was hidden under the clothes.
Eventually, hundreds of stores opened coast to coast, but it was the glitzy launch of Victoria’s Secret’s sexy runway show at the Plaza Hotel in New York in 1995 that made it a household name.
Beginning: The first Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1995 with models such as Angelika Kallio (left) and Leilani (right) walking the runway
The show was broadcast on network TV in 185 countries, and millions tuned in to see supermodels Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Tyra Banks and Karen Mulder, among others, stripped down to the barest of essentials.
Victoria’s Secret opened its first flagship store on London’s Bond Street in 2012. The brand’s annual fashion show was held at the location in 2014 and featured Ed Sheeran as one of the celebrity performers.
The lingerie company has struggled to stay relevant in recent years. Aside from a small rise in the first quarter in 2018, the lingerie retailer had falling sales every quarter since the fourth quarter in 2016.
Victoria’s Secret shuttered 20 stores in 2018 amid a poor annual sales performance and ended the year with CEO Jan Singer after just two years with the company.
The retailer’s former parent company, L Brands, confirmed in November 2019 that its famous show wouldn’t take place. The decision was part of a move to ‘evolve the messaging of [the company],’ Fortune reported at the time.
Famous faces: The show has featured some of the world’s most in-demand models over the years, including Bella Hadid in New York in 2018 (left) and Heidi Klum in Miami in 2008 (right)
Supermodel Tyra Banks displays an outfit during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York in 2003
It came a year after marketing chief Ed Razek said the brand would not cast plus-sized or ‘transexual’ models because the show is a ‘fantasy.’
In 2020, more than 100 models signed an open letter to the then CEO of Victoria’s Secret calling for him to take action on the company’s ‘culture of misogyny and abuse.’
The letter urged John Mehas to end what the group — including Christy Turlington Burns, Iskra Lawrence, Edie Campbell, Amber Valletta, and Felicity Hayward — described as an ‘entrenched culture of misogyny’ at the lingerie chain.
With consumers turning away from glamour towards comfort, plus a huge backlash following reports of Wexner’s historic friendship with disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein, Victoria’s Secret faced an identity crisis.
As well as a shift in public perception of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, the brand faced a continued decline in sales.
In 2020, the brand tried a new approach, posting photos on its Instagram account that promote neutral underwear in a variety of skin tones and using models from different ethnic backgrounds and showing size diversity.
However, some lingerie fans said the company’s bid to finally become more diverse was ‘too little, too late’ and accused the brand of ‘playing catch-up.’
In February 2020, an explosive New York Times report detailed sexual harassment allegations against Victoria’s Secret executive Ed Razek, who had left the company the previous year.
Among the accusations was that Razek sexually harassed Bella Hadid during her fitting for the 2018 edition of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Three eyewitnesses and one person who heard of the remark secondhand said that Razek ordered: ‘Forget the panties,’ as Hadid was measured for underwear.
Three sources also alleged that he groped a model’s crotch through underwear at the same fitting where Hadid had her measurements.
Razek, who resigned in August 2019, insisted: ‘The accusations in this reporting are categorically untrue, misconstrued or taken out of context.’
Three months later, L Brands announced the closure of 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada in May 2020 after being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The closures represented nearly a quarter of Victoria’s Secret’s 1,091 locations in North America.
In June 2021, Vicoria’s Secret unveiled its new diverse line-up of spokeswomen as part of its rebrand, including LGBT advocate and soccer start Megan Rapinoe and Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
A month later, L Brands split into two separate companies: Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.
In November, Victoria’s Secret forecast fourth quarter 2021 sales to be in the range of flat to up 3% versus last year’s fourth quarter sales of $2.100 billion.
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