♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, angels and demons. victoria's secret. once a cultural phenomenon, selling sexy lingerie in malls across america. >> it was like vegas meets playboy meets marvel meets fashion. >> gisele, tyra, heidi peddling the fantasy on the runway. and then the big crash. >> this is one of the greatest collapses in the history of fashion and the fastest. >> the men behind the downfall and the shocking players behind the scenes, like convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. shaggy and sting. ♪ the legends and musical odd couple joining forces again. >> shaggy sings the frank sinatra song in a reggae style

produced by yours truly. >> the englishman and jamaican putting their spin on the works of one of america's greatest c crooners. >> i was terrified about doing it, because it's frank. donald trump's first wife and mother of three of his children, ivana, dead at the age of 73. thanks to chase, angie's not sweating this text since there's zero overdraft fees if she overdraws by 50 bucks or less.

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good evening. thanks for joining us. i'm stephanie ramos. victoria's secret was once the go-to brand for affordable lingerie. famous models wearing wings with barely-there underwear strutted their stuff on the runway. then it all came crashing down. here's abc's zohreen shah. >> reporter: it was the brand that captured the imagination of women all around the world. victoria's secret. a cultural phenomenon, at its peak, a nearly $8 billion business dominating the malls of america. its iconic lingerie-clad angels like tyra banks, heidi klum, gisele bundchen, strutting down the runway. >> i think for a model it's honestly, like, the super bowl of, like, modeling. >> i'm looking for the girls, why? because they're gorgeous. >> very attractive women in small amounts of underwear was

vegas meets playboy meets marvel meets fashion. >> reporter: and gracing the glossy pages of billions of catalogs. >> victoria's secret was one of the greatest brands ever created. it had almost 50% of the market share in its category. >> reporter: behind it all, one man, les wexner. >> he created the modern-day retail, he taught americans how to shop and shop and shop. >> reporter: after decades on top, the brand coming under fire from a changing culture that began to reject the objectification of women and prioritized diversity and inclusivity. >> this is one of the greatest collapses in the history of fashion, and the fastest. >> victoria's secret lost connection with the customer. >> things were falling apart. >> reporter: the meteoric rise and fall of the company chronicled in the new hulu docuseries "victoria's secret:

angels and demons" directed by matt turnour. >> at a certain pint, the lovers of power were no longer in their grasp and they didn't realize it. >> reporter: the series looking at the ties between wexner and the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein, who served as wexner's financial manager and had a wide-ranging power of attorney reserve attorney. >> les wexner had a pulse on culture. why do you think he couldn't see through jeffrey epstein? >> i think epstein was a really accomplished con man. epstein was able to attach himself to men of such wealth and influence, is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries. >> reporter: it was in the late '90s and the early oughts when victoria's secret achieved explosive commercial success. what was the beauty ideal back then? >> in the '90s, think of it as the "sex and the city" era where female empowerment was sometimes associated with a forward type of sexuality. i this they spun that into a

marketing jackpot. that worked for many decades for them. >> reporter: it was the sexiest of wexner's portfolio of brands called elle brands which included the limited and bath and body works. >> they essentially went from being a company that sold stuff, to being an idea. an idea that was synonymous with sexiness and lingerie. >> mark: i by the mid-2010th, the body image that victoria's secret had built its entire brand around no longer resonated with many women. >> our inspiration in the design house was femininity from a woman's point of view, not femininity from a man's point of view. that was always in direct opposition of how les saw sexy. >> it became clear to me that victoria's secret wasn't empowering women. they used such a narrow idea of beauty in their marketing that it was doing the complete opposite, it was making women

feel badly about themselves. >> victoria's secret's branding was very nude-forward. it was almost like soft-core porn meets fashion. and that did not stay viable. >> reporter: "nightline" was behind the scenes of the 2018 victoria's secret fashion show. by then there was a push to embrace diversity and inclusion. >> i'm just so happy that victoria's secret is including models of color. >> we're celebrating diversity. we have angels from all over the world. >> i think diversity is so important. i wouldn't be doing it if i wasn't empowered. >> reporter: the sentiment ended up being too little, too late. the 2018 show got its lowest-ever ratings, and the company canceled the 2019 event. >> clearly there was a systemic problem at the company. and it couldn't sustain its remarkable success any longer after a certain point. >> reporter: in 2018, the company faced backlash after a powerful senior executive, ed razek, made comments in a

"vogue" interview that critics viewed at transphobic, "victoria's secret doesn't hire, quote, transsexuals for their iconic runway shows because the show is a fantasy." razek later apologized and resigned the next year. in 2020, "the new york times" published a damning article, "angels in hell," alleging the 71-year-old razek was the subject of multiple complaints of inappropriate conduct. >> there was a lot of inappropriate touching and inappropriate comments, and anyone who complained or disagreed with ed razek, brushed aside, pushed out. >> reporter: razek telling abc news in 2020, the accusations in the "times" story are categorically untrue, misconstrued, or taken out of context. but other executives telling the "times" wexner was aware of razek's pattern of bad behavior and was heard demeaning women. >> it's a company that has long defined femininity and sexiness

for generations of women. despite all that, it has been run by two powerful men who have presided over, really, a toxic culture. >> reporter: in a statement a victoria's secret spokesperson said, the company featured in this docuseries does not reflect today's victoria's secret and company. today we are proud to be a different company with a new leadership team and mission to welcome, celebrate, and champion all women. abc news has reached out to les wexner's attorney for comment and has not heard back. he had previously declined abc news' request for comment on the matter, but beyond those allegations were questions about wexner's relationship with jeffrey epstein. >> for a long time, jeffrey epstein, his only known client, was les wexner. there wasn't an element of wexner's financial fortune that epstein didn't have a hand in. >> there was a certain point where it was reported to corporate executives that epstein had posed as a

victoria's secret model scout. which he indeed wasn't. >> reporter: in the hulu series, one former vehicle are victoria's secret ceo says she was made aware of that allegation in 1993. >> so i asked this executive to call les directly and tell him what was happening. she did. and les told her he would put a stop to it. >> reporter: in a statement, the series filmmakers say les wexner's attorney says the former ceo confronted epstein and was clear that what epstein was allegedly doing was in violation of company policy and he was forbidden from ever doing so again. epstein denied having done so. but in 1997, actress alicia arden told police in santa monica that epstein invited her to the shutters hotel for a modeling interview for the victoria's secret catalog, told her to undress, and groped her

buttocks against her will. >> just came in from a meeting with jeffrey -- >> i called my friend multiple times. >> i didn't expect i'd have to be in a bra and underwear in front of him in a hotel room. he gave me $100 cash as well. >> reporter: no charges stemmed from the ploort. >> epstein presented himself in a way that was not actually in line with reality of his responsibilities at l brands. that relationship was something that was very concerning to l brands and something they themselves investigated. >> reporter: no findings from this internal investigation were ever made public. wexner claims to have cut ties with epstein in 2007 amid the first federal investigation into epstein's sexual crimes. wexner also maintains that he had no knowledge of epstein's sexual predatory behavior prior to that investigation. >> having investigated this, i was left with more question marks after i finished making it than i had before. >> reporter: wexner resigned from l brands in 2019.

that same year, in july, epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors. weeks later, he was found dead in his new york jail cell while awaiting trial. just last year, l brands committed to invest $90 million to protect employees from harassment and discrimination. after it was sued by at least two shareholders who alleged the company failed to investigate wexner's ties to jeffrey epstein and ignored a widespread culture of sexual harassment at the company. the company made no admission of wrongdoing. >> the company actually has reconstituted its. for me, it's all marketing. and whether the marketing appeals to you or not is your individual choice. >> our thanks to zore reeb. you can watch "victoria's secret: angels and demons" on hulu. up next, shaggy and sting. music's odd couple returns with an album of songs made famous bit one and only frank sinatra.

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♪ when shaggy and sting first teamed up in 2018, they earned a grammy. now they are back with a new album that has shaggy singing the frank sinatra songbook reggae-style. ashan singh sat down with the legends at caesars palace in las vegas. >> just so you know, by the way, this is my show. >> yeah, this looks like your show right now. >> he's just doing backup, just by the way. >> reporter: the odd couple that almost makes too much sense.

>> you cannot take your picture down when i perform tonight, i love it. >> can you leave it up? >> i don't think so, the audience will be confused. >> i just think they want something good to look at. ♪ >> reporter: legendary artists sting and shaggy are back. here in vegas, sting launches his residency at caesars palace. the two were kind enough to make time for me and each other before hitting the stage for their separate shows. ♪ i send an sos to the world ♪ >> reporter: now the duo has teamed up musically again, this time trying their hand at the sultan of swoon, an album of frank sinatra classics. what did it mean for you to be covering frank sinatra's records? >> for me, in jamaica, a lot of people don't know that on sundays in my household in most households, they played a lot of american music. and so, like, frank sinatra,

bing crosby, you know. people like nat king cole. it goes with chicken and rice and beans as part of the culture. >> my dad was a big frank sinatra fan. it's been part of my musical dna for my whole life. >> reporter: produced by sting and sung by shaggy, called "come fly wid mi," named after the classic track but with a jamaican twist. one of the singles, "that's life." ♪ that's life ♪ >> i think the shock on people's face when they hear it in reggae? because obviously they know the songs. but when they hear that drumroll, they hear that bass line start, they're like, what? i'm like -- ♪ that's life ♪ and they're going, what? >> we had a profound respect for the material. these are jewels. they're pieces of art. lyrically, musically. >> my god, the songwriting, yeah. >> it was a big responsibility.

so we made absolutely sure that we did it right. >> i was terrified about doing it. because it is -- it's frank. you know, these are iconic songs. and they have to be done right. and for me to take that kind of leap, if i'm going to do that, this is the best guy to do it with. because he's so damn meticulous. >> where did the idea actually come from? >> on tour in norway, we rented a boat, had a day off. i went swimming in the fjord, mistake. when i get back, he's got the stereo on and he's singing along with frank. and i hear that he has the same range. baritone-tenor. i'm a tenor, he's a baritone-tenor. i'm thinking, that sounds pretty good. then had this idea, and neon lights. shaggy sings the frank sinatra songbook in a reggae style, produced by yours truly. >> reporter: the duo again collaborating just over four years ago, releasing their

debut" fore876" mixing genres of rock and reg ga. it won a grammy for best reggae album. "nightline" sat down with them in 2018. >> this pairing is odd. but when you hear the music, you will be surprised again. then you'll think, that isn't so surprising because they do blend together. in a very remarkable way. >> the early police records, you know, had very heavy reggae influence. ♪ roxanne ♪ ♪ you don't have to put on a red light ♪ >> reporter: like "roxanne" and "message in a bottle." ♪ sting with 17 grammys under his belt, over 100 million albums sold. his superstardom has proven timeless. his time as the police frontman was just the beginning of a career that spanned decades, now generations. ♪ shaggy appears to be following in the same footsteps.

the jamaican singer has sold over 20 million albums, including "boombastic" from 1995. not to mention the legendary "it wasn't me." the iconic single that was the soundtrack to summers in the 2000s. but it wasn't until he teamed up with sting for their first joint project that shaggy secured his first grammy. >> did it surprise you? shaggy, come on, you had so many grammy nomination. it took an englishman to come along to get your second one. do you give him a hard time? >> no, no, no. thanks for telling him that, by the way. a bit of a drill instructor when it comes to getting it done right. even when i am doubting doing something, he's going to push me towards doing it. >> reporter: fair to say, if you didn't grow up on one, you grew up on the other. it sounds like you guys are still hanging out. you're not sick of each other yet? >> a bit. >> sometimes. >> most of what we do boils down to us having a really good

time." 44876" was born out of us having a good time. if we have an idea, we're excited about it. it's going to just be laughed together. >> it's always a surprise. we want to surprise people. music is about surprise. ♪ >> reporter: sting, an englishman, and shaggy, a jamaican, both finding inspiration in what makes frank's music uniquely american. heard here in "you make me feel so young." ♪ ♪ you make me feel so young ♪ >> the sinatra era, it was immigrant music, jewish, italian. it's one of the jewels of american culture. we have to remember that, what immigrants bring to the country is something unexpected and wonderful. >> what do you want people to take away from this record a? >> a smile. >> just to be happy. >> i think the world needs to smile at the moment. there's so much going on that's the opposite. people hear the record and they

start smiling. that's what we need. >> that was a good vibe, for real. that's our job is to make people's lives a little easier. ♪ that's life that's life ♪ >> we all need something to make us smile. our thanks to ashan. next, remembering ivana trump. t, remembering ivana the stinging. trump. with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. tremfya® is the first medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis... and it's 6 doses a year after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®... ask your doctor about tremfya® today.

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♪ ezahn that trump, donald trump's former wife and mother of his three oldest children, died today at her apartment in manhattan. ivana and donald trump were the ultimate 1980s new york power couple. the former model helped him build his empire. their bitter divorce in the early 1990s became tabloid fodder. but ivana rebranded, developing her own businesses, and

publishing several books. >> ladies, you have to be strong and independent. and remember, quality. don't get mad, get everything. >> her ex-husband announcing her death on social media saying in part, "she was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman who led a great and inspirational life." ivana trump was 73. that is "nightline" for tonight. you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here at the same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.