Millennial kids born in the late ‘80s or ‘90s will remember how Victoria’s Secret’s PINK line dominated everyone’s Tumblr dashboards in the noughties. Victoria’s Secret seemed unattainable to a teenage demographic before this time, but upon the launch of PINK, their lingerie and loungewear became the talk of the town, at least on the Internet.
Every photo of girls living a dream-like California lifestyle, clad in either PINK lingerie, loungewear, or swimwear, got hundreds of thousands of reblogs on the micro-blogging website, if not millions. And not one of those photos would miss featuring the strikingly big, bold letters spelling PINK or Love PINK on sweatpants, panties, shirts, bras, and tops. Soon even its initial “P” lettering on short shorts became recognizable upon first look.
For those who jumped a little later on the bandwagon, you’re probably more familiar with the brand for the underwear that seemingly “broke the Internet” last year. It’s the matching velvet bra-and-panty sets that come in the sultry shades of burgundy, blue, blush, and black. But no matter how or when you got into the brand, PINK has undeniably formed a steady following of college girls that look to it for their lingerie needs and sartorial wants. PINK’s appeal to younger women prove to be one of the best things to happen to Victoria’s Secret.
Victoria’s Secret gains a little sister
With a target audience of 15 to 22-year-olds, PINK can be considered Victoria’s Secret’s younger sister, made to reach out to the younger girls that the original brand is too mature for. It presents a fresh, youthful energy to the pieces of lingerie by incorporating prints and colors that are sure to draw young adults in.
PINK was launched in 2002 and has always had a segment in the highly-awaited annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. With guest singers like Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, the ‘80s and ‘90s babies were the first ones to enjoy the first hype. Though it would seem like the brand’s heyday has passed, it remains on top of the chain as far as both high-end and affordable lingerie brands go.
In the bra department alone, PINK has a lot on offer like the common push-up and sports bras, but they also have bralettes and the exclusive wear everywhere bras that are more comfortable and especially chic and attractive to those who don’t need much support. Other than that, the brand has expanded its range to include tops like tees, tanks, and sweatshirts, bottoms like leggings, track pants, joggers, and sweatpants, swimwear, beauty products, and accessories.
The man behind Pink
Quite unexpectedly, the person behind the growth and success of Victoria’s Secret’s PINK is a man. Richard A. Dent III was born to be business-inclined. He had a natural penchant for turning ideas into things and then into demands that people would buy into. Having studied in Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University or FAMU, he went into the fields of automobile and finance to build his career, but he ended up in Limited Brands, the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, and was later assigned to PINK with less than seven people in his team.
To some, this would be barely an opportunity because of the newness of the brand and the smallness of the team but for Richard, he saw this as a big chance to develop his career along with a newly-established and well-cultivated idea of a brand, and indeed, both did.
University collections and sports partnerships
Since PINK marketed more towards college girls, its university collections only made sense for the brand to pursue. Together with the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Collegiate Licensing Company and even the National Football League (NFL), at least 60 university names adorned the brand’s football tees, totes, and hoodies, which are also coincidentally typically used for outfits on those days all college students know too well.
The brand also started hosting spring break parties in 2010 to market the collections. College is already the place where parties happen the most, and those who go often wouldn’t say no to one with guests like Alexander Ludwig, Nick Jonas, and Cody Simpson.
PINK spokesmodels
Victoria’s Secret Angels are the most awaited in the annual fashion show and they usually include the most coveted supermodels in the industry, but PINK’s spokesmodels matter as much to young women who turn to muses for life pegs and inspirations. PINK has headlined models like Alessandra Ambrosio, Jessica Stam, Miranda Kerr, and Behati Prinsloo, who’ve all represented VS’s sister brand on the annual show.
According to Richard Dent III, even before PINK started the works into being a brand, it has already successfully connected and interacted with its market. In 2007, Katie Wile was given the opportunity to walk the glittery runway after winning the Pink Road Trip to the Runway contest. This shows how far the brand is willing to go to be inclusive to its customers. The people behind PINK really pushed the limits to attain the kind of recognition it has now, but naturally, as Richard Dent said, PINK is all good on its own as long as the appealing lingerie, swim, and loungewear keep coming.