1 week Ago By Hilary Milnes
This article originally appeared on Vogue Business. To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Victoria’s Secret has hired designer Adam Selman as SVP and executive creative director, starting 14 April, the lingerie brand announced on Tuesday.
Selman is the first designer to be appointed to an executive creative director role at Victoria’s Secret; Vogue ’s global creative director Raùl Martinez previously served as the brand’s creative director from December 2020 to January 2024. Selman, who has designed world tour costumes for stars like Beyoncé and Katy Perry, most recently held the post of chief design officer for Savage X Fenty, the lingerie brand founded by Rihanna, before leaving the company in January 2025. He also helmed eponymous brands in the past, Adam Selman and Adam Selman Sport, which shut down ahead of his joining Savage X Fenty.
In his new role, he’ll oversee creative, public relations, Victoria’s Secret’s stylist and fashion team as well as copy, according to the brand. “I’m deeply honoured to join Victoria’s Secret & Co at such a thrilling and pivotal moment in its evolution. VS&Co’s brands, with their rich heritage, have long been a source of inspiration in my professional journey,” Selman tells Vogue Business .
“One of the many reasons I was drawn to this role is our shared belief that fashion is a powerful form of personal expression and cultural conversation.” Selman will report to CEO Hillary Super, until Victoria’s Secret appoints a new CMO, who will then oversee Selman. Super worked with Selman at Savage X Fenty, where she was CEO from 2023 to 2024 .
She joined Victoria’s Secret in September. “I am excited to welcome Adam to our team. He is a true visionary, operating at the crossroads of fashion and culture, always attuned to today’s consumer.
His creative insight, cultural understanding and brand-building expertise are exactly what our brands need as we enter this next stage of innovation and growth,” says Super. Selman is the latest designer to join a mass brand in a creative director role. Gap Inc hired Zac Posen last year; Uniqlo hired Clare Waight Keller in September; H&M-owned & Other Stories announced last week that Jonathan Saunders would be its first chief creative officer.
The position helps to elevate mid-market brands that find themselves squeezed by luxury brands on one end and fast fashion on the other. “Adam brings a distinct perspective at the intersection of fashion and culture, driving consistent storytelling across all touchpoints while deepening customer connections,” Super says of the hire. “His vision will push us toward a more modern, culturally-relevant identity, challenging our established formulas and creating powerful cultural moments that resonate with today's consumers.
" It also marks a significant appointment for Victoria’s Secret, which has been undergoing a years-long rebrand. Controversies around former CEO Les Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and CMO Ed Razek’s 2018 comments about trans models, combined with a turn in consumer sentiment that prioritised body positivity and inclusivity, forced the lingerie giant out of favour. In the aftermath, Victoria’s Secret paused its supermodel fantasy-fuelled runway show, appointed a diverse group of ambassadors to form its ‘VS Collective’, including Megan Rapinoe and Paloma Elsesser, and split from Wexner’s L Brands in 2021, going public on the New York Stock Exchange as VSCO.
In March, it reported a 1 per cent increase in annual revenues for 2024 over 2023, to $6.23 billion, nearly half of the $11.8 billion it reported in 2020.
Selman’s hire is a sign of strength for Victoria’s Secret’s revival. He and Super decamped from a competitor. Victoria’s Secret also completed the acquisition of online lingerie startup Adore Me, once considered a rival upstart, in 2023.
Its fashion show returned as a film concept in 2023 before making its runway comeback in 2024. “In the brand's ongoing evolution, Adam will serve as both navigator and visionary—honoring heritage while charting new territory,” Super says. Selman has crossed paths with Victoria’s Secret in the past: he started his career working under Zaldy Goco, the designer known for creating Victoria’s Secret’s famous angel wings.
Will Selman brush off the wings in his new role? Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]. More from this author: US fashion brands face an ‘existential threat’ as tariff reality sets in How should brands handle creative director transitions? ‘We are beyond fashion’: How Birkenstock got back in step post-IPO.
