Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Megan Rapinoe and others will join the company's campaign.

The Victoria's Secret brand has got rid of its world-famous Angel supermodels.

The lingerie and comfort-wear company has bid farewell to the models, who for years walked the catwalks wearing extravagant ensembles adorned with feathers and rhinestones and weighing close to 10 kg, reports the New York Times.

To replace them, Victoria's Secret has launched a campaign featuring high-profile women known for their achievements rather than their figures.

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, freestyle skier Eileen Gu, model and activist Paloma Essler, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, transgender model Valentina Sampaio, South Sudanese model and refugee Adut Akech and photographer Amanda de Cadenet are among the campaign's protagonists, according to the newspaper.

These women will work with the retailer to redefine the meaning of "sexy", as the company faces competition and pressure to include women of different body types - not to mention internal conflicts.

From now on, Victoria's Secret hopes to become a global "champion" of women's emancipation, said its CEO, Martin Waters, according to The Times.

"When the world was changing, we were too slow to react," Waters said. "We had to stop focusing on what men want and focus on what women want".

The women included in the new campaign will be known as VS Collective and will focus on bringing advice to the brand, appear in ads and promote the retailer on social media.

The company itself has also had a makeover of late, as Victoria's Secret has acquired a fresh-faced management team and is introducing a board of directors that will be almost entirely female.

Rapinoe, 35, said the company was sending a "really harmful" message that was "patriarchal, sexist, considering not only what it meant to be sexy but what the clothes were trying to accomplish through a male lens and through what men wanted. And the marketing was very much geared towards young women."

Victoria's Secret was criticized not only for its lack of inclusivity of body types and its marketing geared toward the male gaze, but also for owner Leslie H. Wexner's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, as well as on the basis of a Times investigation that featured alleged bullying, misogyny and harassment on Wexner's part.
"I've known we needed to change this brand for a long time, we just didn't have the control of the company to be able to do it," Martin said, adding that he doesn't consider the Angels "culturally relevant".

This summer, Victoria's Secret will separate from L Brands and Bath & Body Works to become their own public company. Wexner and his former marketing director, Ed Razek, will not be involved.

New projects will include more size-inclusive products and advertising, as well as maternity wear and a podcast with the collective, requiring no visuals.

The famous Victoria's Secret Fashion Show won't disappear for good, however, as it will most likely return in another form in 2022, Waters said.

----
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Megan Rapinoe and Eileen Gu are among the women who will form the VS Collective.

Victoria's Secret will no longer use Angel supermodels in its advertising or fashion shows.