Learn how to become a model for Victoria’s Secret
Have you ever wanted to become a runway model for Victoria Secret? Have you ever wanted to have your picture featured in over 375 million catalogs a year? Well, here is an inside look at the casting process for Victoria Secret and hidden secrets that casting directors look for in a Victoria Secret open casting call.
Victoria’s Secret is the largest American retailer of lingerie and in 2012 Victoria Secret made 6.12 billion.
But what make’s Victoria’s Secret special?
Over the course of nearly fifty years Victoria Secret has “gone from being value-driven to creating a luxury-shopping experience and an aura of fashion associated with its product” which has been driven by marketing.
In the early 1990s Victoria Secret changed the marketing campaign by using supermodels in its advertising and fashion shows. In 1999, Victoria’s Secret’s 30 second Super Bowl advertisement led to one million visits to the company’s website within an hour of airing. Throughout the 2000s, Victoria’s Secret has turned down celebrity models and endorsements for fashion models, and supermodels.
One of the biggest events for Victoria Secret is the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion show. The show is a mix of supermodels and celebrities. Every year the fashion show becomes bigger and bigger with huge musical acts and A-List celebrities.
The brand turned to social networking in 2009, opening an official Facebook page and later on official Twitter and Pinterest accounts. It also expanded its website to feature behind-the-scenes content about its catalog and commercial shoots, as well as its fashion show.
Starting in 1995, Victoria’s Secret started their annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which airs online and on TV. Over time, Victoria’s Secret’s notoriety grew with over 1.5 million visits during every Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. By 2011, the budget for the fashion show was $12 million up from the first show’s budget of $120,000.
According to Business Insider, there is a 1 billion dollar casting strategy to finding the top model to join Victoria’s Secret.
Richard Habberley at DNA Model Management told Women’s Wear Daily last year that “the merchants drive the decisions on the Angels. They [Victoria’s Secret] try the girls out, and certain girls sell product. They’re women that appeal to other women. And they’re special because they never appear in men’s magazines. Once you start to do that, they become threatening [to potential female customers],” said Habberley.
In addition, they are looking for unknown, undiscovered models:
In other words, it’s imperative that Victoria’s Secret customers like the models it features.
It also sheds insight into why the retailer famously rejected Kate Upton. Her constant sexy pictorials and commercials are threatening to other women and would turn off potential customers.
Check out this inside look at what goes on behind the scenes of a Victoria Secret’s open casting call:
What do you think? Do you have what it takes to become a model for Victoria’s Secret? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!
