Victoria’s Secret Introduces First Black Transgender Model

Victoria’s Secret is bringing the HEAT just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The lingerie giant just introduced their first-ever Black transgender model, and she may look familiar to avid TikTok users.

TikTok star Emira D’Spain, aka “XOXOEMIRA” on the platform, recently produced a Valentine’s Day TikTok in collaboration with the lingerie brand.

The TikTok video shows you how to enjoy Cupid’s day WITHOUT a significant other.

And let’s be real… COVID, quarantine, blizzards and more are making it next to impossible for single people to date.

The 25-year-old model says, “My entire platform is built on confidence and self-love. I want to empower young trans women and men around the world to show them that the beauty and fashion industries are changing. Especially if you are a person of color.”

She pairs a red Victoria’s Secret corset with a black leather skirt, tights, black suede Louboutin boots, and a sleek leather coat.

While enjoying her “Valentine’s Day SINGLE Girl Edition” day out, Emira got brunch by herself, bought herself a bouquet of red roses and topped it off with a gift of diamonds for herself.

“Valentine’s Day may be about love, but it’s also about loving yourself,” Emira says before signing off.

Her VS wardrobe consisted of a red silk robe, red corset top and a pair of silky heart pajamas.

“I am so grateful to work with Victoria’s Secret and hope this paves the way for others after me,” she continued.

Victoria’s Secret has gone through a complete transformation since Ed Razek stepped down as a top executive in 2019.

The lingerie giant went from promoting an image of beauty that was highly unattainable for a vast majority of people, to promoting the “Victoria’s Secret Collective.”

Last summer, Victoria’s Secret announced it would be doing a complete overhaul of its current branding.

The company ditched the “Angel” body type and switched to promoting body types that were more inclusive and widespread.

On Wednesday, June 16, ‘VS’ announced Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe and many other high profile women will be the new spokespeople for the brand’s ‘Collective’ initiative.

The Victoria’s Secret Collective, taps into a diverse array of shapes, sizes, and of course, ethnicities. This time around, they have gone a step ahead and added in the LGBTQ+ segment as well, which truly gives us hope for humankind, or at least the lingerie-loving ones.

The official Instagram account for ‘VS’ wrote, “We are proud to announce an exciting new partnership platform, #TheVSCollective, designed to shape the future of Victoria’s Secret. These extraordinary partners, with their unique backgrounds, interests and passions will collaborate with us to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, new internal associate programs and rally support for causes vital to women.”

Their historic rebranding comes after the brand was plagued by controversy after former Chief Marketing Officer, Razek, made transphobic and fat shaming comments.

In 2018, Razek claimed that no one wanted to see transgender or plus-size models on the show. He was asked to leave and as he did, trans model Valentina Sampaio shot for VS. And today, she is a spokesperson for the brand.

Sampaio became the first transgender woman to model for Victoria’s Secret.

The famous Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was officially canceled on November 21, 2019. The high-profile runway show had been “in style” for 23 years. The company that owns ‘VS’, L Brands, said the decision was part of a move to “evolve the messaging of the company.”

Former Victoria’s Secret model, Tyra Banks, spoke out about the new initiative.

Tyra shared a photo from her last ever ‘VS’ runway show over 15 years ago.

She captioned the photo, “First is hard. First is lonely. But first is necessary. First is crucial so that a door can be opened for others to fit through. Within a 10 year span starting in 1995, I was the first Black @VictoriasSecret contract model ever. The first Black Victoria’s Secret Cover model. The first Black VS model to do so many other groundbreaking things with the brand - as well as other brands.”

She continued, “But after a first, must come a flow of more. A flow of different. A flow of unique. A flow so strong, a flow of so many that we LOSE COUNT. I retired from the runway 16 years ago - and I’m proud that in my lifetime, I’m witnessing a beauty revolution.”

“To the new collective of badass ROLE models, I may have cracked that door open, but y’all are charging through. Keep on keepin’ on until we all LOSE COUNT of how many are breaking through behind you. ??? #LetsLoseCount,” Tyra concluded.