Karlie Kloss Talks Leaving Victoria's Secret + Joining Judaism In British Vogue August Cover Story

Superstar Karlie Kloss covers the August 2019 issue of British Vogue, lensed by Steven Meisel. Karlie wears a Versace sweater and Bulgari jewelry styled by Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, who chooses a fabulous gown by Marc Jacobs for one preview shot and Dior checks for another.

Now for the real story, which is Karlie delivering a loving gut punch to Victoria’s Secret, its second in two days. On Monday, NIKE made it known that they now sell more bras in North America than any other retailer.

In her British Vogue interview, Karlie talks honestly about why she left Victoria’s Secret. As a 10-year veteran of the VS organization, lastly as Fashion and Design Director, formerly head of product development and an ace merchant, I hate to say “I told you so.” But — “I told you so.”

Karlie Kloss On Leaving Victoria’s Secret

Karlie Kloss hung up her Victoria's Secret Angel wings in February 2015. At the time, the official reason from VS was scheduling conflicts: Kloss was studying at NYU — in the same program I was in years ago. Kloss says she was studying feminist theory.

I did all my research on the downfall of women and rise of patriarchy from a period of 10,000 BC to 5th century Greece in my thesis. A feminist when I started the program, I was philosophical about Victoria’s Secret in the early days because of its unique and positive relationship with American women and our battle with America’s religious battle for control of women’s bodies. VS had a unique relationship with American women — and I didn’t struggle with the brand as Karlie says she did. But I left over wings so heavy that models struggled to carry them and the descent of the fashion show into a meaningless Las Vegas abyss. This was not the future I wanted for the VS brand and its relationship with American women.

Years later, supermodel Karlie Kloss had her own moment of reckoning and she shares it with British Vogue readers. Kloss was leaving the brand because she did not think its portrayal of women matched her own feminist values. She says:

“The reason I decided to stop working with Victoria’s Secret was I didn’t feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful,” Kloss said. “I think that was a pivotal moment in me stepping into my power as a feminist, being able to make my own choices and my own narrative, whether through the companies I choose to work with, or through the image I put out to the world.”

Yes, Karlie Kloss did walk the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and within the context of these British Vogue statements, she will probably be called a hypocrite.However, Karlie’s work with young girls is becoming legendary and part of being a feminist means standing your own ground, knowing that none of us should be judged by a single moment or decision of our lives.

Karlie’s Conversion to Judaism

Karlie speaks at length in her British Vogue interview about her decision to convert to Judaism ahead of marrying Joshua Kushner. “Changing part of who you are for someone else can be seen as weak,” she postulates, almost anticipating the pushback. “But you know what? Actually, if you’ve been through what I’ve experienced, it requires you to be anything but weak. It requires me to be stronger and self-loving and resilient. I really did not take this lightly.”

We don’t have a full copy of the interview, but our recent post on how Karlie was treated by the Kushner family is pretty astounding. They didn’t speak to her for six years and were totally opposed to her becoming a family member. The hypocrisy is a bit much, given that Ivanka Trump wasn’t a Jew either, and she converted.

The Kushner family saw Karlie as some Midwestern, uneducated lingerie model, compared to Ivanka who is real estate royalty. I can tell you without hesitation that Karlie Kloss is absolutely admired far more in liberal democracies for her philanthropy work than Ivanka Trump is. Ivanka Trump would not have achieved the success of Karlie Kloss if she had to rely — like Karlie — on her own resources.

Karlie Kloss has created her own success, as opposed to daddy putting Ivanka in everybody’s faces 24/7. Of course Ivanka Trump gets side-eye when she prances around like an accomplished policy wonk or diplomat at the recent G-20 meeting. People are sick of the entire Trump family machine.

Karlie Kloss isn’t a showhorse like Ivanka, who can’t walk like a normal person to save her life. The Rose Garden is Ivanka’s personal runway, her carpet of unadulterated fakery. As her father strips one right after another from women in America and the entire world, Ivanka says she is standing up for them. Ask Melinda Gates what she thinks about the Trump family and their support of women.

Super kudos to Josh Kushner who knows a good woman when he meets her.

Karlie explains her relationship with Orthodox Judaism by saying: ““It wasn’t enough to just love Josh and make this decision for him,” she continued. “This is my life and I am an independent, strong woman. It was only after many years of studying and talking with my family and friends and soul searching that I made the decision to fully embrace Judaism in my life and start planning for a future with the man I chose to marry.”