Douglas Brundage, the founder of Kingsland, a brand consultancy, questions Frederick’s overall strategy. In striving for inclusivity, the company went off the rails, said Mr. Brundage. (His clients include Depop, the social shopping platform, and Seed, a probiotics company in Los Angeles.) He cited a series of missteps including questionable casting, uninspired styling and subpar acting. “It looks like they made this bizarre student film,” he said.
For all of the tweaking of its image, Ms. Taylor insists that the company is not about to abandon its legacy customer — the woman, or man, who has long doted on the Frederick’s ’50s-inspired, curve-enhancing corsets, frilly skivvies and nipple-freeing cone-shaped bras.
Indeed, the company might be better served by reissuing high-quality versions of some of those archival staples, Mr. Brundage suggested. In straying from its legacy, it has only diluted its image: “They are killing the glamour,” he said.