i have to agree with many of the recent posts RE: The Angel lineup.
as a fan of VS for years and years, i can definitely relate to the feeling that the status of being an Angel has certainly been lowered.
when i think of the first Angels -- i think of that picture with Tyra, Daniela, Helena, Karen & Stephanie ... all in their t-shirts ... "spoiled Angel" for Stephanie or "Nice Angel" for Tyra, etc.
Those models were SUPERMODELS. they had worked their ***es off in the fashion industry (*or at least in the modelling industry in general, even if it was more commercial*) and now they finally got to be the esteemed faces of VICTORIA'S SECRET. but what's more, is that it was really these women who MADE the "Angels" notion as classy and significant as it has become. suddenly it was a real thing to be the face of the Victoria's Secret brand. and since the brand has grown, it's become even more lucrative.
when Heidi and Laetitia were introduced, they were already very famous, and being the new VS girls was like a stamp on their worth. they both became household names (*Heidi moreso here in North America, but Laetitia became very famous in her own right*). then we had Gisele and Adriana and Alessandra. i think this is sort of where it changed a bit. see -- with Gisele, she was not only incredibly hot, but was also THE top fashion model on the planet. a true, genuine Supermodel. AND what's perhaps more important is that she was excellent at promotions. her personality was perfectly alligned with the brand and she made a great spokesmodel. Ale and Adriana were both insanely gorgeous and really helped move the "brazilian wave", but truly neither of them were so great once they had to speak english. and so the brand was, IMO, damaged in some capacity, because it's spokesmodels weren't as relatable to the American public. this is why Tyra and Heidi remained the top Angels for soooooo long - because they were the ones who were so good at publicity in america.
it didn't help that it was also around this time (*2000 - 2003, approx*) that the celebrity craze had started to really pick up insane steam and models were all but ignored by the general MALE demographic of the audience. with the exception of a few standards (again, Heidi, Tyra, Rebecca Romijn, Gisele, etc). at a time when VS really needed spokesmodels who were able to create a bit of controversy and publicity in America, they just didn't have it. Gisele was the singular exception and she's become more successful than any model before her.
suddenly it's 2005 and they add Selita, Izabel and Karolina. well, Selita is a great spokesmodel. she is gorgeous, vibrant and fabulous with the press. but who in the hell was she before she signed that contract? she had zero prior successes and so it was like she was plucked from nowhere and thus the status of the brand was damaged again. Izabel was the exact same. HOT, certainly, and actually quite endearing in interviews, but again an entire newbie and so she wasn't carrying any sort of heightened significance or weight with her when she was signed.
Karolina was a true supermodel at that point already. she had dominated the fashion industry and had been working for years. she's wonderful in interviews and obviously very hot. the mistake i think was that she was signed 2 years too late. she was at her modelling peak in about 2003. that's when she should've become an Angel. by 2005, she wasn't doing much else in the fashion industry aside from VS. and also it was around this time that the brand itself started to make a swing towards the "SEXY! SEXY! SEXY!" thing with all the PINK and the candy lingerie and all that tacky **** that didn't connect with her as a model, it actually detracted from her appeal. so while i don't think she damaged the brand, i would argue that the brand damaged her.
it did help that by this time, people had gotten familiar with Adriana and Ale and they had improved dramatically in terms of their promotional skills. they grew in popularity and developed huge fanbases and have become famous in their own rights by now. the problem is that they are truly THE faces of the brand at this point and neither of them are as famous as the most relevant Angels in the past (Stephanie, Helena, Tyra, Heidi, Gisele).
and to add to it, they added FOUR new Angels to the mix. Miranda (who had done NOTHING beforehand), Doutzen (who is trying to bring the class a la KK but who doesn't have a name outside the fashion industry yet), Marisa (who is a very successful and famous commercial model, and who is an American, but who seems to almost shy away from the spotlight) and now Emanuela (hot, but young and unknown).
at this point, there are WAY too many Angels, so the status is lessened and the brand is damaged. plus, of the Angels, very few have been relevant in the fashion industry (*read: NONE [presuming KK is actually gone] -- with the exception of Doutzen, possibly, but really how much has she really done*) and very few are well known to the American public.
) In my opinion, I think the next Angel should have been Noemie Lenoir. I mean hello- this girl is Angel material, she is drop dead gorgeous and she has a pizzazz personality!
I am so happy she is an official Angel!
