Venus is an American online and catalog fashion retailer headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Venus is known for its swimwear and lingerie. The company is known for actively participating in charitable endeavors and community activities.
Background
In 1982, Daryle Scott, IBM engineer and MBA student, and three other investors created a mail order apparel company that focused in competitive body suits. In 1984, Scott created Venus Body Wear, The store was located near The Body Shop and Foot Locker. In 2009, Venus Holdings was acquired by the German catalog company Bon Prix, a subsidiary of Otto.
As of 2018, the company employs nearly 1,000 people, 600 of which work at the headquarters in Jacksonville, 300 people work at the distribution center and approximately 50 people work at a Venus fashion design office in Boca Raton. In September 2020, Venus announced that it is permanently laying off 120 jobs at its distribution center as part of a plan to open a second distribution facility on the west coast.
In the media
In February 2012, Kate Upton and Julie Henderson wore bikinis by Venus in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Venus' swimwear has also been featured in the CBS talk show The Wendy Williams Show. Venus Swimwear Model Search was documented in the fifth episode of the first season of HDNet's reality series Bikini Destinations in 2003.
Collaborations
thumb|Model and actress [[Brooke Burke created a swimwear line with Venus|285x285px]]
In 2002, actress and model Brooke Burke created a swimwear line called Barely Brooke with Venus. In June 2020, Venus Fashion launched a swimwear line with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The collaboration featured nearly 40 items, including long-sleeved one-pieces, tie-dye, neon, color-block and animal print swimwear and cover-ups. The pieces were priced between $85 and $140, and sold online. Select pieces from the collection were featured in the 2020 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
Venus models
{| class="wikitable"
!Model
!Occupation
!Known for
|-
|Bree Condon
|Fashion model and actress
|Appeared on the drama film Bombshell (2019)
|-
|Jessica Hart
|Professional wrestler and model
|World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestler on the ECW Brand
|-
|Karen McDougal
|Model and actress
|Playboys Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998
|-
|Nikki Schieler
|Model and actress
|Playboys Playmate of the Month for September 1997
|-
|Dalene Kurtis
|Model
|Playboys Playmate of the Month for September 2001 and Playmate of the Year of 2002
|-
|Rachel Reynolds
|Model
|Currently a prize model on CBS's game show The Price Is Right
|}
See also
- List of swimwear brands