NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 08: Taylor Hill, Jasmine Tookes, Elsa Hosk, Adriana Lima, Behati Prinsloo, and Candice Swanepoel pose during the finale of the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at Pier 94 on November 8, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

What really happened to the biggest lingerie empire in the world? In 2022, Hulu is set to premiere the three-part documentary series The Rise and Fall of Victoria’s SecretAs announced by The Hollywood Reporterdirector Matt Tyrnauer will “go behind the scenes of the lingerie brand, using firsthand accounts and deep investigative research to reveal the inner workings of Victoria’s Secret the brand and the cultural institution.”

Behind the 2008 film Valentino: The Last Emperor, Tyrnauer will also be joined by production company, Film 45, with filming already underway according to Deadline

The limited series will follow the evolution of the lingerie giant from its beginnings as a mail-order company to worldwide phenomenon where it fostered a slew of supermodels including Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Adriana Lima. But in recent years, the celebrated franchise has garnered plenty of criticism for its lack of diversity and poor stance on body positivity.

Victoria’s Secret CMO, Ed Razek, was largely to blame for the brand’s poor public image. In 2018 he claimed “transsexual models” would not be cast in the show as it was “a fantasy.” It followed comments to Vogue where he claimed he had “no interest” in seeing plus-size models on the VS runway.

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 08: Ed Razek speaks to the 2018 Victoria’s Secret runway models backstage during the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at Pier 94 on November 8, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret)

An end of an era arrived in 2019 when Victoria’s Secret announced it had canceled its highly-anticipated runway show. In light of the pandemic, the brand’s parent company, L Brands, closed 250 stores in North America – one quarter of its brick-and-mortar business. On Instagram and following the resignation of Razek in 2019, the brand is attempting to win back its followers with campaigns involving curvy women.

It begs the question: can Victoria’s Secret gain back its relevance? And can it do it when the likes of Rihanna’s Fenty X Savage lingerie line is ahead of the curve where diversity is involved.

Stay tuned for more on the forthcoming documentary series.