在一片爭議聲中，維多利亞的秘密（Victoria’s Secret）曝出了其營銷總監離職的消息。

維密走秀上的天使翅膀造型，就是由艾德·拉澤克一手打造的。本周一，維密母公司L Brands的CEO萊斯·衛克斯奈在一份內部備忘錄中稱，從本月起，拉澤克將不再在L Brands擔任職務。

拉澤克在一封致員工的信中說：“除了萊斯以外，我在L Brands的時間比任何人都長。這是一場很艱難的對話，因為你們其中的一些人肯定知道，這么多年來，我們在一起分享了太多東西。”

今年71歲的拉澤克并未立即回應我們的置評請求。高級副總裁艾德·沃爾夫將暫時頂替拉澤克在L Brands的位子，而鮑勃·坎貝爾將接替他在維密的角色。

根據Coresight Research公司的數據，美國女性內衣市場的市值大約為131億美元，其中維密的市場占有率達到了24%。不過過去幾年，維密的處境并不樂觀，其市場份額正在被主打電商渠道的ThirdLove和美國鷹牌服飾旗下的Aerie等品牌蠶食。

這些競爭對手們主要采取了“健康體形”營銷戰略，將目標瞄準了更廣泛的女性群體和身材型號。其影響也是顯而易見的。L Brands公司在今年2月表示，該公司計劃在今年關閉50多家維密門店。

維密的麻煩還不僅僅在于銷量問題。隨著億萬富翁杰弗里·愛潑斯坦性侵維密天使一事的發酵，維密在女性眼中的形象也越發負面。L Brands公司的CEO衛克斯奈一度與愛潑斯坦過從甚密，愛潑斯坦不僅曾經是衛克斯奈的好友，還當過他的財務經理。拉澤克以前與愛潑斯坦也有過一些交集。

自從1983年起，拉澤克便一直在L Brands公司和衛克斯奈麾下工作，他也是一年一度的“維密秀”的主要功臣（第一屆維密秀于1995年在紐約曼哈頓廣場酒店舉行）。維密秀發展到今天，已經成了被全球電視轉播的一項盛事，維密“天使”們會在內衣上掛上一對天使翅膀，昂首闊步地走上T臺，氣勢不亞于當紅的影視巨星。

去年11月，拉澤克在接受《Vogue》雜志采訪時表示，他不會接受變性模特踏上維密的T臺。這番話也讓維密秀惹來了不少爭議。本周，維密宣布它已經招募了其旗下的第一名變性模特——巴西超模瓦倫蒂娜·桑帕約。

拉澤克這番關于變性超模的言論一出，娛樂圈人士和維密的顧客們紛紛要求拉澤克辭職。維密的CEO簡·辛格也因為此事的發酵而被迫離職。最近，維密已經首次聘請了一名變性超模來拍攝照片。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

Victoria’s Secret’s top marketing executive is leaving the lingerie seller amid a flurry of controversy.

Ed Razek, who crafted the chain’s defining image of lingerie-clad models with angel wings, will step down from his role at parent L Brands Inc. this month, CEO Les Wexner said in an internal memo to staff on Monday.

“With the exception of Les, I’ve been with L Brands longer than anyone,” Razek said in a note to employees, adding he recently told Wexner he wanted to retire. “It was a tough conversation to have because, as some of you must know, we have shared so much together for so many years.”

Razek, 71, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ed Wolf, a senior vice president, will fill the vacancy left by Razek’s departure on an interim basis at the parent L Brands, while Bob Campbell will assume his responsibilities at Victoria’s Secret.

Victoria’s Secret still holds 24% of the $13.1 billion U.S. women’s underwear market, according to Coresight Research. It has struggled in the past few years, however, losing market share to e-commerce competitors like ThirdLove and American Eagle Outfitters Inc.’s Aerie line.

Its competitors have gained ground by using body-positive marketing geared at a wider array of women and body sizes. The impact is clear: L Brands said in February it planned to close more than 50 Victoria’s Secret stores this year.

The turmoil extends beyond the chain’s sales performance, however. Victoria’s Secret portrayal of women is under greater scrutiny due to Wexner’s past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was at one time the CEO’s close friend and financial manager. Razek had past ties with Epstein as well.

Razek, who has worked for Wexner and L Brands since 1983, was a longtime champion of Victoria’s Secret’s annual fashion show, which was first held at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel in 1995. It grew into a televised spectacle starring the company’s “Angels,” who don wings in their underwear and strut the runway as pop stars perform live.

Last November, Razek and the fashion show became embroiled in controversy when the executive said in an interview with Vogue magazine that he would not put transgender models on his runway. (This week, the retailer announced its first transgender model hire, Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio.)

Celebrities and customers have called for Razek’s resignation and the brand’s CEO Jan Singer left her job in the aftermath. The lingerie label recently hired its first transgender model for a photo shoot.