California Apparel News

The glamour and business of swim collided this month when the Swimwear Association of Florida’s SwimShow 2008 and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami Swim fashion shows, orchestrated by producer IMG Fashion, invaded Miami Beach, Fla., for five days and nights.

California designer Jacquelyne Love kicked off the festivities with a July 10 show that featured looks from her Bella Mar line of swimwear and a performance by The Beach Boys. The fashion shows, which ran July 10–14 at The Raleigh, coincided with the SwimShow’s July 11–15 run at the nearby Miami Beach Convention Center. On the runway and on the show floor, new and emerging trends gave buyers plenty of options for 2008.

The hot topic at SwimShow wasn’t the strength of the bandeau top or the Brazilian-style bottom, but rather the show’s new dates. Always the earliest (and biggest) swim show in the country, SwimShow this year shifted its dates up a week because of scheduling conflicts at the Convention Center. The move affected some of the larger manufacturers who had less time to churn out samples of their swim offerings.

“It killed us. We were scrambling to get everything done,” said Alex Bhathal of Tustin, Calif.–based Raj Manufacturing. Bhathal—whose vertically integrated company makes suits and coverups for O’Neill, St. John Swim, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Athena Pick Your Fit and Next by Athena—said the earlier dates made getting enough samples for the show a huge challenge. Other brands were unable to produce all their samples in time. “In the end, it turned out to be a very successful show for us. We had nearly 300 appointments, but we’ll be very happy next year, when the show returns to its original schedule,” Bhathal said.

Some exhibitors wondered if the new dates, which opened the show mid-week and closed it on Sunday, didn’t coordinate well with buyers’ schedules and led to a perceived drop in attendance. Still, others noted strong appointments and plenty of walk-ins.

Judy Stein, SwimShow’s executive show director, said the disruption of the show dates was a one-time occurrence. And, she said, despite the date change, more than 2,000 lines packed the exhibit floor and attendance grew approximately 15 percent over last year. “It was a very successful show, and I am very pleased with the outcome,” Stein said.

SwimShow 2008 also marked the 25th anniversary of the Swimwear Association of Florida. “We went all out,” Stein said, noting the festivities included a comprehensive fashion show at Miami Beach’s Nikki Beach club, featuring a pyrotechnic finale and an enormous birthday cake.

Buyers from department stores and specialty retailers roamed the aisles in search of swimsuits and coverups and attended the shows to see the latest swim styles brought to life. Diane’s Beachwear, Everything But Water, Molly Brown Swimwear, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Victoria’s Secret, Dillard’s, Macy’s East, Macy’s West, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tillys, Pacific Sunwear of California, Scoop and Intermix shopped the show. Buyers from South America, Europe, Canada and Mexico added an international flavor.

Cherie Alleyne, a buyer for East Coast retailer Blum’s, shopped the show for specialty pieces, including sexy maillots and specialty sizes with contemporary styling. “One-pieces have been doing very well for us. The hot color has to be a bright purple—I’ve been seeing it everywhere,” Alleyne said. Prints, like those from Tommy Bahama, took a turn toward crisp and clean.

Running for cover

A key trend for juniors to designer brands continued to be sportswear-style coverups, which made a big splash at last year’s show. This year, brands continued to push the envelope and blur the line between a beach coverup and true sportswear.

St. John Swim grew its coverup offerings by 300 percent because of high buyer demand. Long and short tunics, empire-waist dresses, palazzo pants and wrap-around skirts complemented St. John’s demure maillots and sexy bikinis. “We’re definitely pushing a ’beach to bar’ look,” said Lisa Bhathal Vogel of Raj Manufacturing, St. John’s licensee. Newcomer Jessica Simpson swimwear complemented its all-American girl juniors offerings with cotton sundresses, tank dresses, bandeau dresses and short shorts. True Religion Swimwear, which also made its debut at SwimShow, paired its bikinis with a total of 14 coverup styles, including silk-blend dresses trimmed with leather, long Modal gowns, mod swing dresses in silk and pin-tucked voile mini-dresses. “We’re going for a cohesive True Religion look that translates outside of the pool and focusing on fabrications that aren’t considered traditionally ’swim,’” said Mel Priess, the brand’s national sales manager.

Costa Mesa, Calif.–based surf/skate brand Hot Tuna grew its coverup offerings to include punky all-over–print jumpers and sporty separates. Santa Monica, Calif.–based designer brand Kushcush by Kerry Cushman showed gold and silver mod knit mini-dresses. At Shay Todd, luxurious terry sweatsuits and brocade blazers got plenty of attention from buyers. Lake Forest, Calif.–based L*Space began offering printed chiffon dresses to complement its sexy beach-bunny styles. Los Angeles–based Haverhill doubled its coverup offerings and got lots of attention for its satin jumpsuit. New York–based fledgling brand Araks showed cotton batiste bubble dresses, jumpers and a shirt dress with Juliette sleeves. Los Angeles–based Apparel Ventures launched La Blanca Spa, a collection of sporty separates that incorporate color schemes and knit fabrics from the company’s La Blanca line of swimwear. The line—packed with hooded shells, fitted walk shorts, banded wide-leg pants and sporty skirts—is targeted at department stores, resorts, spas and specialty retailers.

Surf’s up

Surf brands swarmed SwimShow with a renewed vigor. “We definitely saw a growth in the number of surf exhibitors this year, though we’ve had many surf brands here for a long time,” SwimShow’s Stein said, adding that the show aggressively pursued surf brands. Longtime surf exhibitors Billabong, Roxy, Rusty, Body Glove, Aaron Chang, O’Neill and Split shared the floor with returning brands Hurley and Rip Curl. New to the SwimShow were Volcom and Reef, both of whom recently launched women’s swim categories.

Volcom, which launched women’s swim for 2007 but sold it only to existing accounts, used SwimShow as a platform to debut its 2008 collection, which, at 200 pieces, is available to all retailers. The collection features bikini separates and onepieces that tie back to the surf/skate brand’s edgy apparel. With quirky styles, such as a bikini with built-in suspenders, Volcom’s women’s swim line offers a unique swim perspective that buyers seemed to respond to. “It’s been a great show for us,” said Amy Lee, the brand’s marketing manager. “Buyers appreciate our point of view.”

Notably absent from the fray was quintessential surf brand and longtime SwimShow exhibitor Ocean Pacific. Representatives at Warnaco Swim, which retained the juniors swim license after the brand was sold to Iconix last year, said the line had been put on hold.

Green swim

Following a trend that is gaining popularity in contemporary fashion, swimwear makers are beginning to offer green, or eco-friendly, products.

Designer Rebecca Virtue, who showed her Becca line on the runway, added eco-friendly fabrics to her line of coverups. Nike launched Nike Signature, a collection that uses recycled polyester for its sporty swimwear. Speedo showed goggles made of high-grade PVC with low-phthalate material that will protect water and soil systems after disposal. All new Speedo goggles use TPR and silicone, which are more environmentally safe than other plastic materials, according to the company. Santa Ynez, Calif.–based Tropi-Ties offered swimwear made from natural hemp and jersey fabric trimmed in cotton. Jungle Gurl, a start-up swim brand from Los Angeles, went green by reworking vintage muumuus, dresses, pants and tops into skimpy bikinis.

Photographer Aaron Chang’s namesake line converted its fabrications for two of its collections to eco-friendly alternatives, including organic cotton and polyester made from recycled plastic bottles. “The price points go up a little as we go green, but we think it is worth it,” Chang said. “We spend a lot of time in the water, so we’re focusing on a clean-water effort. Every little bit helps.” For Summer 2008, all of Aaron Chang’s collections will be green.

Retailers responded well to swim brands’ eco-friendly initiatives, asking for information about the green efforts to be printed on hangtags. “It’s definitely a selling feature for consumers and store buyers. People are looking for eco-sensitive products,” said Britta Cabanos, brand manager at Nike.