Lingerie & Innerwear
ParkVogel Goes Essential
In a marketplace where everyone is rushing to discover “the next big thing,” designers Julie Park and Vanessa Vogel of ParkVogel have turned their attention to basic essentials. The successful T-shirt company will be taking its aesthetic of designer-quality gauzy knits into the field of intimates for Fall 2005.
“[In the intimates market,] the trend is so trendy—it’s ruffles to rhinestones to whatever. It’s very hard to compete,” said Park in the company’s downtown Los Angeles design studio. “A lot of buyers comment [our product] is just too basic. As designers, Vanessa and I believe that those pieces will last. It is necessary.”
ParkVogel modeled its yarn-dyed mercerized cotton fabric after that used by long-established undergarment companies such as La Cosa and Zimmerli while adding a contemporary silhouette and lower price point for its T-shirt collection. The intimates line will feature 100 percent Egyptian combed cotton, a tubular rib and Italian jersey fabric for a lighter and softer feel than that of mercerized cotton.
Park, who has had experience working in the lingerie business as a designer for boutique label Echo The Line, said that most lingerie is made with some sort of stretch agent to accommodate a variety of body types. Since Park and Vogel were insistent on maintaining 100 percent cotton, the pair agonized over the fit of their underwear to create a boyshort that would hug the body while only using the horizontal stretch of the knitted cotton.
“There is something very nice about cotton. It’s very tempting to use Modal or 1 percent Lycra, but we try to set ourselves apart by just maintaining this 100 percent cotton,” said Vogel, who added that the cotton fabric is the core of their intimates line.
Bottoms include boyshort styles in paper-thin cotton or tubular rib with or without stretch-lace trim ($13 to $15 wholesale) and cotton pajama pants. The tops ($19 to $23) come in a range of basic styles intended to be worn underneath clothing or as sleepwear, including laced-trimmed tanks, short- or long-sleeved crew necks, short-sleeved V-necks, three-quarter-sleeve Henleys and striped long chemises with shelf bras.
For more information, contact the Kris Mesner Showroom, in suite A1033 of the California Market Center, at (213) 623-7890.
Perfect With Levis
San Francisco–based denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. is taking its famous red tabs to the intimate apparel market industry with a new underwear, loungewear, daywear and sleepwear collection for men and women. The collection will officially launch for Spring 2006.
“We were looking for a brand that we can really have a lot of fun with,” said Christopher Laurita, the president and chief executive officer of Signature Apparel Group, the New York–based licensing company that is producing the Levi’s intimate apparel line. “We thought with Levi’s 150-year history, what better brand to go and take a lot of the aesthetics from denim and put it onto the sleepwear and loungewear.”
The new innerwear line, targeted at mid-tier department stores and Levi’s shops, may infuse more interest into the stagnant denim label by expanding the principles and classic styles of the brand into a different market.
The men’s collection includes a basic white underwear group, featuring briefs and tanks with the Levi’s name in red on the waistband and a number of woven and knit fashion boxers in plaids and paisley prints inspired by vintage prints found in Levi’s archives. One of the key pieces for the men’s loungewear collection is a knit pant that is fashioned to look like a Levi’s 501-style jean, complete with gold stitching, rivets and a red tab on the back pocket.
The women’s daywear collection follows the same trend of denim-inspired, vintage-looking styles for camisole tops, off-the-shoulder shirts, sleepwear pants, underwear and bras.
Wholesale price points range from $4.25 to $4.75 for men’s boxers, $7.50 to $12.50 for loungewear pants, $7 to $12.50 for women’s sleepwear tops, $5 to $12 for sleepwear bottoms and $3.50 to $8 for daywear.
Mesner Lands Elle
Elle Macpherson Intimates has been added to the Kris Mesner Showroom, located in suite A1033 of the California Market Center. The New Zealand–based line has been successfully selling in the United Kingdom and Australia for about 12 years and launched in March 2005 in the United States. The label will introduce a sleepwear line at the Lingerie Americas show in August.
Mesner’s lingerie, daywear and sleepwear showroom represents Eberjey, Le Mystere, Bed Head, Julep, Katherine Harestad, ParkVogel and Claire Pettibone.
While the supermodel’s name may catch a retail buyer’s attention, Mesner said the sophisticated collection sells itself. The collection features smooth cup bras with tiny polka-dot prints, sheer styles with lace trim, shiny loose-fitting camisoles and lacey maternity bras. The line has been sold to Ron Herman–Fred Segal Melrose, American Rag, Bella Cosa, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Marshall Field’s.
Biatta’s New Seamless Collection
Biatta Intimates introduced its vibrantly colored seamless collection last month at Macy’s West stores as part of an effort to re-brand the Biatta label as a fashion-forward lingerie line. Biatta Intimates features the Biatta, Miss Fifi and Peeping Tom brands.
“We made a significant decision that we really wanted to build a brand following,” said Sandy Skinner, Biatta’s senior vice president of sales and merchandising. She added that the designers have streamlined the seamless, fashion and re-embroidered groups to have a consistent cut, fit, concept and color story so that customers can recognize the company’s products.
The Biatta brand has increased its visibility through billboards and advertising in shopping areas. It also hired a merchandising manager to visit the stores periodically and merchandise the brand’s section. The company has expanded its staff and nearly doubled its Los Angeles headquarters to accommodate the effort.
Skinner said most seamless underwear is featured in such colors as nude, black or white to be invisible. But Biatta’s smooth, seamless bras and camisoles in jacquards, graphic flower prints, multicolored stripes and polka dots are meant to be seen and worn under tees and tanks, with orange, pink or green straps peeking through.
“It’s been interesting how much reaction there has been to the coordinate pieces: the molded bra, hot shorts and cami top,” Skinner said. “It was surprising to us. We were thinking it was going to be just a panty story.”
Biatta’s regular underwear is marketed as three for $18 in the department stores. The seamless styles will sell for three for $21, raising the bar for quality and fashion design. Wholesale price points for the seamless collection range from $2.50 for a thong to $6 for a camisole.
L.A. Co. Launches Label
The California Fortune Group will debut its line, Milili Intimates, during Los Angeles Market Week June 10–14. The business has spent several years producing private-label lingerie for companies such as Biatta Intimates, Honeydew, Paradise Lingerie, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Fashion Forms.
“Milili” is a melding of the name of company owner and co-designer Mimi Chu with the name of her sister and co-designer, Lili Chu. While the company is continuing with its private-label business, Milili is offering the designers more creative freedom.
Katie Grant, Milili’s independent sales representative, noted that because the product is made in China, the recently imposed safeguard measures restricting underwear imports makes private-label business risky. “No one knows if they are going to implement the quotas back in or if they are going to implement more duty. It’s a higher risk to do private label right now because if [the merchandise] gets stuck in customs for two or three months, the customer can say they don’t want it anymore,” she said.
Some of the key items that Milili produces serve a practical purpose. The molded cup of the “Memory Bra” is lightly padded with mattress foam to adhere to the shape of a woman’s breasts, similar to the way a mattress spring responds to the weight and shape of a person’s body. The “Nipple Patch,” a round silicone adhesive patch that covers the nipple, has been a bestseller at $6.75 wholesale. The company said it is popular because it is reusable and comes in a flip-top box with a clear window that makes it easy to merchandise.
The collection also features camisole-and-underwear sets with bright stripes and lace trim for juniors customers, as well as re-embroidered lace bras and bustier sets for women.
During Dallas Market Week, held June 2–5, California Fortune sold the line mostly to boutiques. The company will continue targeting boutiques while it introduces the brand.
When Milili is ready to hit a broader market, California Fortune’s established relationships with department stores through its private-label business should help ease the product into bigger venues. “It’s worth it for us in the long run,” Grant said.
For more information, contact the Milili Showroom, in suite B1077 of the California Market Center, at (213) 683-8528.
