Commentary written in 2020:

These Adriana Lima photos below remain one of our most popular editorials with readers. In the world of Google Image search, they always make the cut.

The photos were taken by Russell James in late 2007/early 2008 for the VS Valentine’s Day 2008 campaigns.

Victoria’s Secret has flipped the brand around multiple times in the last 10 years.

Originally, I thought these photos could have come from the 2003 “Angel in Venice” campaign, a time when the brand was dramatically more upscale than today.

To be clear, the current brand image is significantly better than a couple years ago, when many of us rose up in revolt against the then tawdry image of Victoria’s Secret.

The mood of these images and Dylan video is in direct contrast to the 2010 Holiday Victoria’s Secret video which is pure bombshell and absolutely created from a man’s point of view.

In this case, that man is American film director Michael Bay.

The contrast between these two videos is the same struggle the brand experienced when I left the business over a decade ago.

Is the Victoria’s Secret brand sensual in a female-centric way, like these Adriana Lima photos, or is it testosterone-infused and looking like sexy women in the Israeli air force ready for bra battle.

Is Victoria’s Secret a guys brand or a woman’s brand? I don’t believe women have fantasies about war, even if many of us are playing video games in droves.

Enough business — except to say that many of us are war-weary, and we are all ages. These Adriana Lima photos are gorgeous and deeply sensual. In my vision of Victoria’s Secret, this is how we like it. ~ Anne