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Women's Wear News
2005
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Say the words "Frederick's of Hollywood" and what usually springs to mind are images of peek-a-boo panties, patent leather micro-minis and Lucite stripper heels.

We don't have any advance images to show you yet, until the launch day of this line this will be Frederick's best kept "Secret".

But the lingerie purveyor's NC-17 image is about to go from naughty to nice (and from X-rated to A-list) thanks to the licensing agreement they just signed with Hollywood stylists Cristina Ehrlich and Estee Stanley, who together have dressed some of Tinseltown's biggest stars - Penelope Cruz, Demi Moore, Jessica Biel, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Eva Mendes, Mandy Moore - along with co-designing the flirty femme clothing line, Miss Davenporte.

Now, Ehrlich and Stanley are turning their collective eye to what lies beneath with a new line of lingerie they're whipping up for Frederick's of Hollywood, which is set to hit shelves just in time for the 2006 holiday season and continues with additional collections through 2008.

"Hollywood is part of our culture and heritage and we wanted to continue our tradition of working in Hollywood with celebrities, so it seemed like the right time and [Ehrlich and Stanley] in particular are the right people for this project," Frederick's director of communications Jennifer Lowitz said of the groundbreaking partnership, which is the first time the company has worked with outside collaborators in its 60-year history.

"We're not just bringing somebody in to lend their name; they bring their design sensibility, their critical eye and their experience as stylists," she adds. "They know what works on women - what looks beautiful, what flatters - and they're bringing all that to work with us on a very special line. Their taste level and experience is what really made them stand out - and their clients literally run the gamut from A cups to D cups."

The designers sound equally gung-ho about the project, and told us they hope to bring the "sophisticated, chic, timeless, lady" vibe of their Miss Davenporte collection to the lingerie they'll be designing for Frederick's, which will undoubtedly make its way onto the backs - and bosoms - of at least some of their famous clients.

"So much of what we do with our clients is red carpet events: premieres, Oscars, awards," said Ehrlich. "All of our girls have very, very different body types, and a huge part of what makes them look amazing on the outside is what we do underneath these garments to make things work, so they look as beautiful as they [can] at all of their events. They can't stand on the red carpet and have zillions of photographers taking pictures of them unless they know that they are securely in their dresses - and some of these dresses that have the smallest little strings have a whole other story going on underneath. So when we had this opportunity to [collaborate] with Frederick's, it was really exciting, because so much of what an intimate apparel line does is what makes us able to do our job. It was a no-brainer."

While everyone involved is being cagey with the exact details of the lingerie itself, Lowitz would confirm that it will be a "sexy" collection that would enhance the wearer's figure and sense of style.