Fredericks of Hollywood is indeed an American lingerie company that used to have locations in shopping malls throughout the country. All 111 retail locations were shuttered in 2015 as the company prepared to file for bankruptcy. The brand was purchased by Authentic Brands Group as well as rebranded as FOH Online Corp., an online-only business. FOH Online Corp. was bought by Naked Brand Group, Inc. in 2018.
Frederick Mellinger founded the company in 1947. Frederick’s offered bras, panties, corsets, bedroom slippers, hosiery, bridal lingerie, special occasion lingerie, and much more.
The original flagship shop in Hollywood, California, was a Hollywood institution. After 59 years, the business relocated to the junction of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue in September 2005.
The Lingerie Museum and The Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame were once located in the store, and included a collection of undergarments worn by Hollywood celebrities, including one of Madonna’s pointy-breasted corsets.
Frederick’s of Hollywood dominated the lingerie business until Victoria’s Secret overtook it in the 1980s.
When Frederick’s lingerie museum was stolen during the Los Angeles riots in 1992, it received national notice.
In exchange for a $10,000 payment to a group that provided free mammograms to the needy, Madonna handed the museum a replacement. Bloomers used by Ava Gardner as well as a push-up bra used by actress Katey Sagal in Married… with Children were among the items taken from the store. A contrite looter sent the pastor of adjacent Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Hollywood a bag of Gardner’s as well as Sagal’s lingeries.
Blessed Sacrament’s pastor “may be the only priest in America to ever soothe a man who felt terrible over borrowing famous bloomers,” according to an Austin publication.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said in a piece headlined “Support Is Generous for Bra Museum” that this “uplifting narrative can only really occur in Hollywood.”
Frederick’s of Hollywood supplied several of the underwear worn by Bettie Page, the famed 1950s pin-up.
In 2001, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It recovered from bankruptcy in 2003 and relocated to Los Angeles. It amalgamated with New York City sleepwear producer Movie Star in 2006, as well as its headquarters were relocated to the Big Apple.
The firm was renamed Frederick’s of Hollywood Group Inc in 2008. The firm used to trade here on NASDAQ underneath the ticker code FOHL, but it was bought privately in May 2014 by Harbinger Group as well as other investors. The company’s headquarters are still in New York City.
In 2015, the firm shut down its stores as well as filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time. Authentic Brands Group bought the company’s brand and online activities. The firm declared that it will solely operate online, with the possibility of developing items for sale in department stores and other retail outlets in the future.
The Naked Brand Group Inc. bought the firm in 2018.
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