Megan Fox, Frederick’s of Hollywood Co-Owner, Explains How “Naughty” Lingerie Can Empower Women

Megan Fox has done quite a bit over the course of her decade-plus career. Play a man-eating zombie? The mean girl foil to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen? The love interest in an Eminem music video? Check, check, and check. Last September, however, Fox took on her most unexpected role to date: co-owner of lingerie brand Frederick’s of Hollywood. Sure, a former Maxim “World’s Sexiest Woman” modeling underwear isn’t breaking news, but taking on a business role, complete with creative input? Well, that’s a new one. Today, Fox’s first campaign since taking on the role debuts, featuring the 30 year-old herself photographed by Ellen von Unwerth. Here, the actress talks the do’s and don’ts of lingerie, her daily beauty routine, and why she’d want to raid Reese Witherspoon’s underwear drawer.

How did you first get involved with Frederick’s of Hollywood?

I had a meeting with ABG [Authentic Brands Group], who acquired Frederick’s, and they were going to be relaunching the brand, and part of that meeting was about not just wanting to pay me to be the face of a company, but to give me part ownership, which would come with some creative control and the ability to design my own collection. It was a unique opportunity that most people don’t get. I didn’t really think I was going to be designing lingerie at any point in my life, but I thought, ‘What an interesting, fun challenge.’ It’s something I never anticipated.

Do you remember your first experience interacting with the brand?

When I first moved out to L.A., I was a teenager, maybe 17, and I always wanted the sexiest lingerie because I was raised in a really strict home with really religious parents. I love Victoria’s Secret, but they didn’t have the really naughty stuff that I wanted to wear. I went to the Frederick’s store on Hollywood Boulevard and bought a lot of stuff, and felt rebellious and empowered and excited that I got to wear all of this stuff that I knew my mom would die if she knew I was wearing.

What are your goals for the Frederick’s of Hollywood?

Of course empowering women is important, especially when you are dealing with lingerie because it does have such a history of existing solely to excite or engage a man, and the woman is lost in that process. I do think we need to change, or reverse that–not Frederick’s alone, but society in general. We also need to, and have plans to, make lingerie something that you can wear; something that’s daywear or nightwear to wear with clothes. That’s obviously a huge trend, and it’s something I want as a woman. I don’t want something that I can only wear on a very rare, special occasion. Those things are fun, but I do want access to stuff that I can wear and make fashionable. And I think that is empowering. We’re seeing a trend where people are wearing less clothes than ever, and that’s a very interesting thing that’s happening. It doesn’t seem like people are so body conscious in a negative way anymore. People are embracing their shape and wanting to show it.

What are the biggest do’s and don’ts when it comes to lingerie?

I don’t know if I have any don’ts. It’s so subjective what people think is sexy. What I like is not going to be what everyone else likes. In general, when I’m designing something, it needs to be something that looks good on every shape and size. You want someone who is a 32A to be able to wear the same thing who is a 36G. Everyone wants to be able to wear something that makes them feel sexy.

Whose lingerie drawer would you love to raid?

Of all famous women living right now? I’ve never thought about this before… I feel like it’s the ones that are really fun and sugar-y and sweet that have the girl-next-door image that would have the really, really, super naughty stuff, so maybe like a Reese Witherspoon or something?

You just had your third son–has your style changed since becoming a mom?

If anything, after you go through having a baby and you gain the weight, twenty or thirty pounds, and then you have to lose the twenty or thirty pounds, I always go through a phase of wanting to wear super sexy stuff because I feel so proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished and getting into shape. Every time I have a baby, I feel more comfortable in my body. It bursts a little renaissance in me. The practical part of it is that there is no time to plan your outfits, what happens is you end up in a lot of activewear. When I’m trying to get dressed, someone is always trying to pull curtains off the walls.

What is your go-to beauty routine these days?

I have really dry skin, so I have to take care of my skin. I use organic skin care only, and a lot of oils. I’m very fair-skinned, so I always have to have sunscreen. I put on sunscreen before I leave the bedroom, even if it’s raining or I know I’m not going to leave the house. My brows are a huge part of my look, and if they’re not done, it completely changes my face for the worse. I have crazy long eyelashes, so I don’t always wear mascara but I do curl them, and then I’ll do a tinted lipbalm. And concealer, because I have really dark circles from never sleeping. That’s my bare bones.

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