Two lingerie brands faced the same problem. They gave opposite answers, and both are growing.
I'm Mustafa Akindele, a brand partnerships consultant in London with 20+ years across music, luxury, hospitality and sport. This case study looks at what happened when the airbrushed fantasy stopped working, and why the lesson isn't as simple as "be more authentic".
Prefer to watch? The 5-minute video is on YouTube.
The fantasy stopped working
For years, Victoria's Secret owned the category with a clear formula: supermodels, wings and a televised runway show. It worked until it didn't. As Fortune has reported, a backlash against unrealistic body standards began to hurt the brand, and the show that had defined it went away for years.
Women hadn't stopped wanting to feel good. They had stopped seeing themselves in the picture.
Aerie's answer: stop retouching
In 2014, Aerie launched #AerieREAL and committed to stop retouching its models.
It was a marketing decision that also worked as a product promise. Every campaign that followed proved it again. And the business followed: Aerie passed $1 billion in sales by 2021, and in fiscal 2025 it reached $1.93 billion, up from $1.74 billion the year before. American Eagle's own brand was roughly flat at $3.37 billion, so Aerie is now the group's growth story.
The most important word in that strategy isn't "real". It's "stop". Aerie gave up something the whole category relied on, and that made the promise believable.
Victoria's Secret's answer: bring the glamour back
Here's where a simple David and Goliath story falls apart.
Victoria's Secret spent years searching for a new identity. Under Hillary Super, who took charge in 2024, it went another way. It revived its runway show after a six-year break, and it's planning to change its stock ticker from VSCO to VSXY. That isn't a brand apologising for glamour.
The numbers have responded. In the three months to 2 May 2026, sales rose 15% to $1.56 billion, the fourth straight quarter of growth, and the shares traded about 40% higher that day. Fiscal 2025 sales came in at $6.55 billion.
The scoreboard
Latest full-year sales: Aerie: $1.93bn; Victoria's Secret & Co.: $6.55bn
Position: Aerie: The challenger; Victoria's Secret & Co.: The incumbent, more than three times bigger
Answer to the problem: Aerie: Show women as they are; Victoria's Secret & Co.: Make glamour feel relevant again
What it gave up: Aerie: Retouching; Victoria's Secret & Co.: Years of apologising for what it was
So who is winning? Aerie has shown that a challenger can build a nearly $2 billion brand against a giant. Victoria's Secret has shown that a giant doesn't have to turn into the challenger to recover. The figures above come from different company reports and scopes, so treat this as a sense of scale, not a like-for-like comparison.
Why both worked
In my view, neither brand copied the market. Aerie's customers wanted to be seen as they are. Victoria's Secret's customers, or at least enough of them, wanted some glamour back. Each brand worked out what its own customer wanted, and committed.
The trap for every other brand is to study a winner and copy the tactic. "Stop retouching" was powerful in 2014 because almost nobody was doing it. A brand adopting body positivity today as a campaign line is simply joining a queue.
What this means for partnerships
This is where it gets practical for anyone building brand partnerships.
Aerie has worked with talent whose public identity reinforces the promise. A partner like that doesn't need to be explained, because they already stand for what the brand is saying. Victoria's Secret's show does a similar job in reverse: it puts talent, music and spectacle back in one room, because spectacle is the point.
The same test applies whoever you're signing: does this partner make our promise more believable, or do they just make us more visible? Visibility is easier to buy, but belief lasts longer.
Lessons for marketing leaders
See your own customer. Start with who you serve, not what your biggest competitor is doing.
Make promises that cost you something. Giving up retouching was believable because it was a real sacrifice.
Don't copy the winner's tactic. Copy the discipline of working out what your customer wants.
Choose partners who prove the promise. Reach is only part of what you're paying for.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Aerie compared with Victoria's Secret?
In their latest full-year results, Aerie's revenue was $1.93 billion and Victoria's Secret & Co.'s net sales were $6.55 billion.
What was #AerieREAL?
A 2014 commitment by Aerie to stop retouching its models, which became the centre of its brand.
Is Victoria's Secret recovering?
Its results to May 2026 showed a fourth straight quarter of growth, with sales up 15%. Whether that lasts is still to be seen.
Is this case study affiliated with either brand?
No. It's independent commentary and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Aerie, American Eagle Outfitters or Victoria's Secret.
Watch the full case study
Aerie vs Victoria's Secret on YouTube
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Work with me
I help brands build partnerships that earn culture rather than rent it.
Mustafa Akindele is an independent brand partnerships consultant in London, with 20+ years' experience across music, luxury, hospitality and sport. CIM-accredited.
Independent commentary. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any brand named.
