Valentina Sampaio makes history as first transgender Victoria’s Secret model

A year after a Victoria’s Secret executive vowed to exclude “transsexuals� from fashion shows, the underwear brand has officially hired its first openly transgender model.

Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio confirmed her partnership with the clothing giant on Instagram Thursday, posting a backstage snap of herself at a Victoria’s Secret photo shoot. Her caption included the brand’s Instagram handle for its “Pink� collection along with the hashtags #new, #vspink, #campaign, #representavidade (roughly translating to “representation� in English), #beauty, #diversity and #vstorm.

According to CNN, Sampaio’s agent has clarified that she had been hired by Victoria’s Secret for a campaign, to be released in mid-August, for Pink.

Sampaio’s announcement comes about a year after Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer of Victoria’s Secret’s parent company, sparked a backlash for making transphobic comments. In a 2018 interview with Vogue, Razek said trans models should not be included in the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show� and referred to the trans community as “transsexuals.� He also added that “no one had any interest� in a show featuring plus-size models.

“It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show?� he said. “No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy.�

Razek later apologized for his comments in a statement posted from Victoria’s Secret’s Twitter, which said the company would “absolutely cast a transgender model for the show.�

Sampaio now has the potential to make history as the first trans model to walk the VS runway. On Saturday, she shared a selfie video captioned “never stop dreaming.� Sampaio has previously modeled for L’Oreal Paris and Vogue Brasil.

A representative for Sampaio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.