Tik-Tok Royalty: Victoria’s Secret Introduces First Black, Trans Model

Victoria’s Secret, the once highly criticized lingerie company seems to be putting its money where its mouth is after vowing to do better when it comes to representation.

It’s the hope of many that 2022 continues to be a year of positive precedents. So far, we’ve seen the Olympics’ first openly nonbinary athlete compete and will soon see the first transgender DC character appear in Batgirl. Plus, the latter half of 2021 gave us the first openly pansexual person to go to space as well as the first gender-neutral passport issued in our very own Fort Collins.

Keeping the positive examples going is Victoria’s Secret recently announcing its first Black, trans model, whom you may know from TikTok. Emira D’Spain, also known via her Instagram handle, @xoxoemira, announced joining the VS model army with a post on February 1 with a confirmation post from the lingerie giant following shortly thereafter. The self-proclaimed “beauty-obsessed” social media personality continues to be ever-popular on TikTok, and is now adding “Victoria’s Secret Model” to her resume.

“Honored to be the first black trans girl working with @victoriassecret,” the model wrote. “As a kid I only DREAMED of being a part of Victoria’s Secret.” D’Spain continued to credit Valentina Sampaio for “paving the way,” as she was Victoria’s Secret’s first openly transgender model (and Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue’s, as well).

The news comes both fittingly at the start of Black History Month as well as at a time when Victoria’s Secret is still working to rebuild its not-so-savory reputation of the past. In recent years, and largely in part due to cutting ties with L Brands, the lingerie brand has worked to re-establish its relevance with women—of all kinds. Victoria’s Secret has long been criticized for its lack of inclusion both in its product sizes as well as in the models representing the brand.

Just last year, Victoria’s Secret Chief Executive Martin Waters made statements in a virtual investor meeting that addressed the mistakes of the brand’s past and its new vision for the future. “We got it wrong,” Waters said during the presentation. “We lost relevance with the modern woman. And she told us very clearly to change our focus from how people look to how people feel—from being about what he wants to being about what she wants,” according to CNBC.

And though the debate is still up in the air about whether or not VS’ attempts at rebranding are too little, too late or conversely, a welcome change, the fact that Emira D’Spain made history this month is indisputable. Fans of Emira and/or fans of Victoria’s Secret can only hope that she achieves great success and is supported by a company that, though still licking its wounds, is on its way to doing better.