Victoria's Secret is putting on their big girl panties and dealing with it-the backlash from the public over word of a new underwear line that would be targeting middle school and tween-age girls. After Business Insider's report, parents, especially those with blogs, took to voicing their outrage and concern that the lingerie giant was attempting to sexualize young girls.
In a swift PR action, Victoria's Secret released this statement, "Victoria's Secret PINK is a brand for college-aged women. Despite recent rumors, we have no plants to introduce a collection for younger women. Bright Young Things was a slogan used in conjunction with the college spring break tradition."
Although the company is currently saying PINK is geared toward the college demographic, previous reports have said the line is aimed at girls as young as 15 years old. On any given day, it is not uncommon to see young girls incorporating the company's line of yoga clothing and loungewear into their daily wardrobe. And, lovers of the scantily clad models can see their favorite pieces come to life in the yearly 'Victoria's Secret Fashion Show' that is broadcast on major television networks.
A recent comment made by the company's chief financial officer, Stuart Burgdoerfer, is being reported as the basis for the misunderstanding, "When somebody's 15 or 16 years old, what do they want to be? They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that's part of the magic of what we do at Pink."
Even with that comment, Victoria's Secret is standing firmly by their statement that they are not targeting the middle school youngsters, meaning Bright Young Things is just their attempt at being....cheeky.
What's your take--are parents and conservatives overreacting, or does Victoria's Secret know exactly what it's doing?
