Frederick's of Hollywood is an American lingerie brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed before a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Group and was relaunched as an online-only store, FOH Online Corp. In 2018, Naked Brand Group, Inc. acquired FOH Online Corp.
The store previously housed The Lingerie Museum featuring The Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame (that replaced its Bra Museum), which exhibited a collection of underwear worn by Hollywood movie stars, such as one of Madonna's black pointy-breasted bustiers, the black lace bra and panties that Zsa Zsa Gabor wore in the 1953 film, Lili, a petticoat that Ava Gardner wore in Show Boat, a white peignoir that Mae West wore for Life magazine in 1952, the Milton Berle in-drag costume,[7][8] and those worn by Cher, Judy Garland, Cybill Shepherd, Belinda Carlisle, Phyllis Diller, Lana Turner, Shirley MacLaine, Tony Curtis, Mary Wilson, Mamie van Doren, the Pointer Sisters, Ethel Merman, Amanda Blake and Isabel Sanford.[9][10]
Frederick's of Hollywood was the market leader[11] in lingerie until the 1980s when it was overtaken by Victoria's Secret.[5]
In 1992, Frederick's lingerie museum drew national media attention when looted during the Los Angeles riots. Madonna’s black bustier, which was worn in her music video for Open Your Heart, was stolen and has never been returned despite a $1,000 reward from Frederick’s. Madonna gave the museum a replacement in exchange for a $10,000 donation to an organization that supplied free mammograms to people experiencing poverty. Other lingeries stolen in the store were "a petticoat Ava Gardner wore in Show Boat[12][13] and a push-up bra worn by actress Katey Sagal in Married... with Children. One repentant looter delivered a bag of Gardner's and Sagal's lingeries to the pastor at nearby Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood.[14][15][16] An Austin newspaper noted that Blessed Sacrament's pastor "may be the only priest in America to ever comfort a man who felt guilty about stealing celebrity bloomers."[17] In an article titled "Support Is Generous for Bra Museum", the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that such an "uplifting story could only happen in Hollywood."[18]
In 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In 2003, it emerged from bankruptcy and was headquartered in Los Angeles.
In 2006, it merged with New York City sleepwear manufacturer Movie Star, and the headquarters was moved to New York.[19]
In September 2005, after 59 years, the store moved to the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
In 2008, the company changed its name to Frederick's of Hollywood Group Inc.[20] The company was traded on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FOHL.
In May 2014, the company was taken private by Harbinger Group and other investors.[21] Its headquarters remain in New York City.
In 2015, the company closed its stores and again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[22][23] Its brand and online operations were acquired by Authentic Brands Group. The company announced it would be online only, with possible plans to create products for sale in department stores and other retail outlets.[24]
In 2018, the company's online operations were acquired by the Naked Brand Group Inc.[25][26]
Some of the lingerie worn by the 1950s pin-upBettie Page was from Frederick's of Hollywood.[5]
Lingerie is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments, sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashionable, or both. In a 2015 US survey, 75% of women reported having worn "sexy lingerie" in their lifetime.
Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme, revealing, skimpy, or provocative in a fetishistic manner. By definition, most people do not wear these styles; if everyone wears an item, it cannot have a fetishistic, special nature. They are usually made of materials such as leather, latex or synthetic rubber or plastic, nylon, PVC, spandex, fishnet, and stainless steel. Some fetish fashion items include: stiletto heel shoes and boots, hobble skirts, corsets, collars, full-body latex catsuits, stockings, miniskirt, crotchless underwear, jockstraps, diapers, garters, locks, rings, zippers, eyewear, handcuffs, and stylized costumes based on more traditional outfits, such as wedding dresses that are almost completely see-through lace, or lingerie for men.
In women's clothing, a corselet or corselette is a type of foundation garment, sharing elements of both bras and girdles. It extends from straps over the shoulders down the torso, and stops around the top of the legs. It may incorporate lace in front or in back. As an undergarment, a corselet can be open-style or panty-style.
Lindex was founded as a Swedish fashion chain in 1954, however since 2007 it became a part of the Finnish Stockmann Group. The company has around 5000 employees and approximately 480 stores in 18 markets in the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, Central Europe and the Middle East. In addition to sales in store, Lindex also offers their fashion assortment via online shopping in 28 countries: all EU countries plus Norway. The company has had a rapid international expansion and sales growth. The assortment includes several different concepts within women's wear, lingerie, kids’ wear and cosmetics.
Trashy Lingerie is a custom-made lingerie apparel store based in Los Angeles known for its unique designs and its association with Hollywood celebrities. It is well-known for requiring an annual $2 USD membership fee to shop in the store.
HerRoom is an online lingerie and men's underwear retailer based in Dallas, Texas. It was founded and is owned by Tomima Edmark, inventor of the TopsyTail. Edmark runs both HerRoom and brother site HisRoom, through her company, the Andra Group LLP.
Ultimo was a Glasgow-headquartered designer lingerie brand, majority owned by Sri Lanka–based lingerie group MAS Holdings. It was founded in 1996 by Michelle Mone, via her company MJM International Ltd., with her then-husband Michael. In 2013, after their marriage collapsed, Ultimo was transferred to joint venture company Ultimo Brands International Ltd, an equal partnership between Michelle Mone and MAS Holdings. In November 2014, Mone sold the majority of her stake to MAS Holdings. In August 2015, Mone resigned from the boards of MJM International Ltd and Ultimo Brands International Ltd.
A bra, short for brassiere or brassière, is a form-fitting underwear that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups that are held in place by shoulder straps. A bra usually fastens in the back, using a hook and eye fastener, although bras are available in a large range of styles and sizes, including front-fastening and backless designs. Some bras are designed for specific functions, such as nursing bras to facilitate breastfeeding or sports bras to minimize discomfort during exercise.
Chico's FAS, Inc. is an American women's clothing and accessories retailer founded in 1983 on Sanibel Island, Florida. Founded by Marvin and Helene Gralnick, it is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida and operates four brands: its namesake Chico's store, White House Black Market, Soma and TellTale.
Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by bodily excretions, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.
Gossard is a Nottingham-based brand and manufacturer of women's undergarments and hosiery. Founded in the early 20th century in Chicago as H. W. Gossard Co., it expanded quickly, flourishing in the 1920s. As Associated Apparel Industries, Inc. it held a central position in its market in the 1930s. Amalgamated eventually succumbed to the poor economy in the United States during the Great Depression, but Gossard continues as a division of Courtaulds in Great Britain.
The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions.
Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by a Stanford graduate student and his wife, Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner in 1982. Wexner rapidly expanded into American shopping malls, growing the company into 350 stores nationally with sales of $1 billion by the early 1990s, when Victoria's Secret became the largest lingerie retailer in the United States.
Kay Cohen is an Australian fashion designer and business woman based in Sydney, Australia. Cohen has led a number of lingerie design brands, most notably as founder and creative director of Pleasure State and as general manager and creative director of Elle Macpherson Intimates. Cohen is the inventor of the Biofit uplift bra.
Boutique La Vie en Rose Inc. is a Canadian lingerie retailer headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. The brand produces and sells a range of undergarments, sleepwear, and swimwear aimed at women in the 25-55 age group. Since 2003, La Vie en Rose also offered underwear, sleepwear, loungewear and swimwear for men under the brand name "La Vie en Rose MAN". In 2016, the company launched a new line for men called "LV96". As of September 2017, La Vie en Rose has permanently stopped offering products for men, explaining that "In order to focus on women's comfort and well-being, we will no longer carry our men's collection".
La Perla is a London-headquartered Italian lingerie and swimwear maker owned by entrepreneur Lars Windhorst through Tennor Holding B.V. The brand was founded by couturière Ada Masotti in Bologna in 1954.
Triumph International is a Swiss underwear manufacturer founded in 1886 in Heubach, Germany. The company's headquarters has been located in Bad Zurzach, Switzerland, since 1977, and it has branches in 45 countries. In addition to the Triumph brand, the company produces and distributes the products under the brands sloggi and AMO’s Style by Triumph.
Fleur du Mal is a lingerie and ready-to-wear brand that sells at retailers including Shopbop, Barneys, and Net-a-porter. The company was founded in 2012 by Jennifer Zuccarini.
Bendon Group is a New Zealand lingerie, underwear and sleepwear company. It includes the women's brands Bendon, Me by Bendon, Pleasure State, Lovable and Hickory, the fuller cup size brand Fayreform, and the men's brands Bendon Man and Davenport.
The S. H. Kress and Co. Building, also known as S. H. Kress or The Kress, is a historic five-floor building at 6608 W. Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. It is known primarily for its architecture and its almost six decades as the flagship location of Fredericks of Hollywood.
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