Misses Swimwear Evolves at Miami Swim Show

As retail sales peaked at the height of the swim season, many buyers got an early glimpse of the latest swimwear trends at the Swimwear Association of Florida’s Cruise 2005 swim show, held July 17–21 at the Miami International Merchandise Mart and Radisson Convention Center.

Roughly 700 buyers preregistered for the show on the first day, a 25 percent increase over last year, according to the show’s executive director, Judy Stein. Specialty boutique and department store buyers from Water Water Everywhere, Macy’s, The May Department Stores Co., Ron Jon Surf Shop, Saks Group, Boston Proper Inc., Delia’s, Von Maur and The Buckle Inc. were among those who viewed lines by some 400 exhibitors. This year’s exhibitor space increased by 20 percent, Stein said.

Foot traffic was steady during the four-day show, with many exhibitors reporting a high frequency of walk-in traffic. At various times of the day, the halls were filled with buyers discussing new trends and proven successes. But most buyers said they were reserving their buying dollars, opting to edit lines first and place orders closer to the season. A few buyers said they would place orders early to give their customers a sneak preview of next year’s trends.

This year’s swim show had much to offer in the new swim design category. Swimwear resources new to this year’s show included Cosabella, Chaiken Swim, Sea Angel Swim, St. John Swimwear, Choice Calvin Klein, Anne Cole Studio, Platinum Collection by Speedo, Sport, Split Swimwear, Paul Frank Swimmer, Love Surf Love, Palmarosa and KGB.

The Warnaco Swimwear Group came to the show with a handful of new resources for Cruise 2005: Platinum Collection by Speedo, a modern and sophisticated swim collection with wholesale price points ranging from $44 to $86; Sport, an active, yet trendy swim collection with wholesale price points ranging from $33 to $48; Anne Cole Studio, an elegant, high-end swim collection with price points ranging from $46 to $70; and Choice Calvin Klein, a young contemporary juniors swim line with wholesale price points ranging from $38 to $48 for separates.

Additionally, buyers previewed Speedo’s forthcoming activewear and footwear collection, aptly called Adrenaline.

“We hit some of the fashion trends this year, and we’re going to propel those styles to be top performers,” Warnaco Swimwear President Roger Williams said, adding that he was gearing up to travel to Greece to lend some support to Speedo’s Olympic team.

The show also presented its share of designer collections. Ten years after the launch of her ready-to-wear line, Julie Chaiken is finally taking a plunge into swimwear. The San Francisco–based designer bowed Chaiken Swim, a line of high-end swimwear geared toward better retail boutiques. Styles include a seamed maillot, a triangle bikini, a camisole bikini, a corset maillot and a knotted one-piece. The line has sleek, stylish silhouettes and prints that complement Chaiken’s sportswear pieces, said saleswoman Brett Krugman.

A strong enthusiasm for business was felt throughout the show. Young contemporary swimwear maker Fernanda Hurwitz—owner of La Fer, a 2-year-old swim company based in Los Angeles—stood at the edge of her booth greeting buyers. Hurwitz came to the trade show armed with a 24-piece swim collection geared toward 18- to 30-year-old women. The line offered youthful and sexy swim pieces, including triangle tops, side-tie bottoms and halter bikini tops in floral, camouflage and fruit prints. The line, picked up by Planet Blue in Malibu, Calif., and select Diane’s Beachwear stores, also offered cotton knit coverups in short-sleeved and tunic styles.

“Metallics are still huge,” gushed swimwear designer Susan Holmes of Holmes Swimwear in Los Angeles. She offered an array of metallic swimsuits, including an elegant copper foil triangle top with a crystal broach and matching low-rise boy bottoms, a sporty black triangle top with silver foil binding and boy briefs with silver athletic stripes, and a sexy zebra-print triangle top and hipster bottoms with silver binding.

At buyers’ request, Holmes added a bandeau top to her collection: a dotted tricot top with a large pierced ring and hanging chain detail. “It’s part of that whole metallic, patches and ’bling’ detail that buyers are really getting into,” she said, adding that specialty store buyers from Henri Bendel, Scoop and Kitson have already placed orders for several pieces.

Buyers from Saks Inc. were looking to add a splash of color to their merchandise mix with a budget equal to that of the last Cruise season. They were also hunting for variations of polka- dot and geometric prints, which were strong sellers last year, according to Saks swimwear buyer Mary Ellen Patricco.

More about misses

Several swimwear manufacturers and retailers said the misses category was undergoing a major comeback after a brief sales decline in recent years.

May Department Stores buyer Shayne Froidl attributed the comeback to updated bodies in bright color palettes.

Boutique buyer Cathy Rose––owner of Endless Summer, a two-store retail chain on St. Maarten—said her misses business went up 25 percent last year. Her core resources include Sunflair, Tara Grinna, Pilpel, Roidal and Diva. Rose, with a budget up 25 percent, searched for floral and sequined suits with soft fabrics and plenty of color.

“The invasion of color had a major impact on business at retail this year,” according to Apparel Ventures Inc. President Lynne Koplin, who said a strong year in misses business was a factor in the Los Angeles–based swimwear maker’s singledigit sales increase.

“Our 40-year-old customer looks younger these days,” she said, adding that Apparel Ventures’ two-piece category has tripled during the past three years.

Alex Bhathal, executive vice president for sales and production at Raj Manufacturing Inc. in Tustin, Calif., agreed. He surmised the misses market is finding ways to translate youthful trends for a mature customer. Raj produces juniors and misses licensed swimwear for the Guess? Collection, Guess Swimwear, St. John and O’Neill as well as for inhouse labels Next by Athena and Athena Pick Your Fit.

Raj’s misses division saw an 8 percent sales increase for the 2004 fiscal year ending June 30, Bhathal said.

“The juniors market saw solid growth for three years in a row,” he said. “This year, unless you offered new variations on proven successes, business paused a little.”

Trend-driven juniors

The juniors customer was drawn to mature, fashion-savvy trends. Those who catered to that customer saw moderate sales increases for the season, said retailers and swimwear designers.

Monica McNeel, owner of young contemporary swimwear maker L*Space, said her business will see a 20 percent increase this year. She noted that although many buyers did not place a lot of reorders this year, many placed large orders at the beginning of the season, a practice that can be risky for both retailers and manufacturers.

McNeel, who bowed edgy swim collection Love Surf Love at the show, was one of several swimwear makers who chose a light color palette for this year’s Cruise season.

La Blanca designer Rod Beattie also chose light colors for his signature collection and its youthful counterpart, La Playa. “I designed the lines to play off the success of the bright color palette used in ready-to-wear,” Beattie said, adding that the layered tank-top trend was the influence behind La Blanca’s brightly colored contrast “two-fer” bikini tops and one-pieces.

Delia’s buyer Marguerite Verger, who had a budget that was even with last year’s, said she was looking for bandeau tops and monokinis in bright and muted colors. She liked L*Space’s Scottish terrier–print slide triangle top and belted brief and Op Classic’s plaid bandeau bikini with an embroidered floral appliqueacute;.

Construction was a favorite pastime for swimwear designers this year. Some designers mixed jersey, tricot, nylon and Lycra to achieve innovative fabric textures, such as shantung, geometric, paisley, pintuck rib and cable.

Print trends included art deco florals, geometric prisms, engineered dots, color blocking and scenic prints.