California Apparel News

NEW YORK—One year after launching in Las Vegas, lingerie trade show Curvexpo bowed in New York Feb. 3–5, running concurrently with Intimate Apparel Week and NewYork Fashion Week.

Founded by trade-show veterans Jean-Luc and Laurence Teinturier, CurveNY featured171 exhibitors, including Lejaby, La Perla, Wacoal, Natori, Spanx, Chantelle, Le Mystegrave;re, Calvin Klein and Badgley Mischka.

The show, held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, drew 1,190 attendees, including buyers from department and specialty stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue.

The splashy debut included a cocktail reception held in partnership with Lycra for lingerie buyers at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

CurveNY was scheduled to run a week before the third edition of its CurveNV show in Las Vegas and nearly a month before competitor Lingerie Americas is scheduled to hold its 12th New York show. Last August, Lingerie Americas held its debut show in Las Vegas. Both lingerie shows now run concurrently with the MAGIC Marketplace and its host of satellite shows.

Traffic at CurveNY’s debut was “consistent,” according to Jennifer Partoll of Hanky Panky. “We are showing products all the way through December, and there is a particular emphasis on our new holiday packaging,” she said. “With buyers, there seems to be an emphasis on Immediates, and Curvexpo gives us the platform to present our newest technology.” Business was good, and buyers were interested in Hanky Panky’s organic-cotton thongs and silky-skin, high-waist panties. “Some people are just taking notes, but retailers are definitely buying,” she said.

Spanx was another exhibitor that chose to participate at the CurveNY launch. “We are excited about this opportunity because our goal is to attract the high-end boutiques,” said sales and account manager Lauren Walsh. “Exhibiting at CurveNY aligns with our strategy, and the timing is great because we are able to attract some of the Fashion Week traffic.”

Spanx debuted several new products at the show, including the “Bra-llelujah” bra, which eliminates the back-fat bra bulge through the use of hosiery in the straps and back of the bra. Additionally, the Spanx line expanded to include the “Slim Cognito” collection, which features a body-shaping camisole with different compression zones made using seamlessknitting techniques.

“With Spanx, retailers go for the immediate buy, and we have seen a lot of drop-ins that have been particularly responsive to our innovative products,” Walsh said.

Betsey Johnson Intimates opted to show at CurveNY and at Lingerie Americas in New York and to skip the Las Vegas shows.

“After the numbers come in, we will decide if we should eliminate one of the New York shows and integrate Las Vegas into our trade-show schedule,” said Monica Muccioli, a sales assistant. “But at this point, we just aren’t sure.”

The Betsey Johnson booth showed lingerie all the way through holiday deliveries and saw a strong amount of traffic. “With retailers attending both New York shows, it was important for us to touch base with our existing accounts while making an effort to reach out to new boutiques,” Muccioli said.

Betsey Johnson Intimates picked up a few new accounts, and retailers were particularly interested in the 1x and 2x sizes of the baby dolls, Muccioli said, “I think a lot of buyers respond to the cheeky names of our products, and our [sleepwear] sleepy knits are always popular,” she said. “The flowery prints and velvet leopard devoreacute; are flying off the shelves, and we are continuing to receive a positive response from retailers.”

Buyer Rhys Moore of Griffin Collewellyn Consulting in Greenwich, Conn., said he found innovative pieces at Ed Hardy Intimates. “I came looking for new trends, and I think that Badgley Mischka had truly elegant lingerie. Their line seemed to be a cut above everything,” he said. Having attended different trade shows, Moore said he was impressed by the level of exhibitors at Curvexpo. “This is their foray in the New York market. I think this was a huge success,” he said. “This looks promising so far.”

Katie Canvin of the Austique boutique in London attended the show looking for Fall and Holiday merchandise. “My customer is looking for fashion-forward pieces, and we have achieved great success in the U.S. via our Web site and high-end catalog business,” she said. “At this show, I really liked Hanky Panky and Cosabella. I also think Bulb is a refreshing new line with a great deal of talent.”

The show organizers indicated that they were pleased with attendance figures and were optimistic about the growth of the New York show. “We had some of the top names exhibiting at our first New York show, and I think that proves this was quite successful,” Curvexpo sales manager Xavier LeBorgne said.

LeBorgne said the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week cocktail party generated buzz among buyers. Organizers are discussing possibilities for future events for the New York show, including fashion shows. The next CurveNY is set for August.

For now, organizers said they plan to keep the momentum continuing at the Las Vegas show, held Feb. 14 –16 at The Venetian.

Le Mystegrave;re is one brand that showed at CurveNY that will be showing again at CurveNV.

“We are pleased to be part of Curvexpo’s premiere New York show,” said Jennifer Pfister, Le Mystegrave;re’s director of sales and marketing, who credited the quality of Curve’s exhibitors and the show’s atmosphere for Le Mystegrave;re’s success at the event. “When paired with Curve’s intimate atmosphere and personal touches, it brought us an exceptional level of buyers who were able to relax and focus on the product,” she said. “Overall, it was a very successful show for us, and we look forward to more success in Vegas.”