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The L
Brands Empire - A By-Gone Era
‘Angels’ in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny
Inside Victoria’s Secret But inside the company, two powerful men presided over an entrenched culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment, according to interviews with more than 30 current and former executives, employees, contractors and models, as well as court filings and other documents.
Executives said they had alerted Leslie Wexner, the billionaire founder and chief executive of L Brands, about his deputy’s pattern of behavior. Some women who complained faced retaliation. One model, Andi Muise, said Victoria’s Secret had stopped hiring her for its fashion shows after she rebuffed Mr. Razek’s advances. A number of the brand’s models agreed to pose nude, often without being paid, for a prominent Victoria’s Secret photographer who later used some pictures in an expensive coffee-table book — an arrangement that made L Brands executives uncomfortable about women feeling pressured to take their clothes off. The atmosphere was set at the top. Mr. Razek, the chief marketing officer, was perceived as Mr. Wexner’s proxy, leaving many employees with the impression he was invincible, according to current and former employees. On multiple occasions, Mr. Wexner himself was heard demeaning women. “What was most alarming to me, as someone who was always
raised as an independent woman, was just how ingrained this behavior was,” said
Casey Crowe Taylor, a former public relations employee at Victoria’s Secret who
said she had witnessed Mr. Razek’s conduct. “This abuse was just laughed off and
accepted as normal. It was almost like brainwashing. And anyone who tried to do
anything about it wasn’t just ignored. They were punished.”
Ms. Mitro was until last fall the executive vice president of public relations for Victoria’s Secret. She was a well-known figure in fashion and media circles who had spent decades at the company. But for years, Ms. Mitro suffered verbal abuse at the hands of Ed Razek, her boss and a top executive at L Brands, according to colleagues who witnessed numerous instances of mistreatment. At times, they said, Ms. Mitro was left in tears. Mr. Razek was the subject of repeated complaints, including trying to kiss models, get them to sit on his lap and making unwanted advances, The New York Times reported this weekend. An employee’s human resources complaint that was reviewed by The Times listed more than a dozen allegations, including demeaning comments and inappropriate touching of women. Mr. Razek said the allegations against him were “categorically untrue, misconstrued or taken out of context.” Last fall, not long after Mr. Razek left the company and as rumors of imminent layoffs in Ms. Mitro’s marketing area were swirling, she decided it was time to speak up. She didn’t think she could trust human resources, according to people familiar with her thinking, so she took her complaints of sexual harassment and gender discrimination — involving her and others — to someone she believed would inform the board of directors. That person, according to people familiar with the exchange, was David A. Kollat, who had recently stepped down after 43 years on the boards of L Brands and its predecessors. He and Ms. Mitro had become close over her long tenure at the company, and she spoke with him directly. Before stepping down, Mr. Kollat had been an independent director at L Brands, even though he was widely known to be close to Mr. Wexner. He had worked directly under Mr. Wexner for 10 years, serving as executive vice president for Mr. Wexner’s retail chain, The Limited. It isn’t clear exactly what Mr. Kollat did with the information that Ms. Mitro provided. Ms. Mitro was not available for comment. The first inkling that Ms. Mitro was in trouble came the day after her complaint An L Brands facilities manager told her how sorry she was: Ms. Mitro’s name was on a list of employees whose access to the building was about to be terminated, according to people familiar with the day’s events. Later that day, the head of human resources at Victoria’s Secret told Ms. Mitro that she was being placed on paid administrative leave, these people said. Ms. Mitro wasn’t told why. Ms. Mitro’s colleagues never saw her in the office again, leaving many colleagues with the impression that L Brands had retaliated against her, according to co-workers at the time. nytimes.com
Victoria's Secret Executive Made Lewd
Comment About Bella Hadid's Breasts During Fitting: Report The incident was one of several allegations of sexual harassment and bullying made against Ed Razek in a recent New York Times report. Hadid, 23, was being measured for underwear when Razek, watching from a couch in the same room, allegedly declared, ”forget the panties.” Razek allegedly went on to remark that the real question was whether the TV network would let Hadid walk “down the runway with those perfect” breasts, according to the Times, which also reported that at the same fitting, Razek allegedly touched another model’s crotch over her underwear.
A rep for Hadid and a spokesperson for Victoria’s Secret did not
immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Stuart B. Burgdoerfer, chief financial officer and executive vice president of L Brands (the parent company of Victoria’s Secret) announced the news during a conference call with analysts on Thursday morning, as first reported by Women’s Wear Daily. “There will be more to come as that continues to get evaluated,” Burgdoerfer said. “We recognize and appreciate that the communication of the brand, the offerings, the emotional content of Victoria’s Secret is obviously an important thing.” The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show launched in 1995 and soon became synonymous with supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bundchen and Miranda Kerr hitting the runway in elaborate lingerie, wings and sleepwear designs year after year. It was first broadcasted on television in 2001 on ABC. The event was then broadcasted on CBS from 2002 to 2017, returning to ABC last year. According to CNBC, the 2018 fashion show had the worst ratings in the history of the show’s broadcast. The brand’s annual fashion has also been at the center of
controversy for not embracing models of all sizes and backgrounds on its runway. people.com Wexner is likely seeing how drastic changes, both in the broader culture and the retail business, have been. In the #MeToo era, analysts and competitors alike have criticized Victoria's Secret branding as backward and clueless. And while Victoria's Secret backed away from its fashion show, it's unclear what replaces it.
"It's sort of an end of an era for a lot of things — the end of that sexy thing
at Victoria's Secret, but also the end of the era of stores," Peterson said.
"Les was at the dawn of that, and now he's at the sunset of that — and I think
he's smart enough to realize that. And at 82 years old, he may not want to take
that kind of turnaround on, or realizes that he doesn't understand what it
takes."
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