TRADE SHOWS

Shape Enters Third Season

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Hedy and Catherine Bendel recently launched a line of loungewear called Jebecah Pret-a-Porter.

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Dalma Pszotka of Cozy Orange Yoga Apparel shows off some of the casual sweaters the company manufactures.

Athletic wear, yoga wear and swimwear were front and center at the third Shape show, organized by the California Market Center on the building’s 13th floor.

This season, the number of exhibitors declined by more than 20 percent. In the past, the shows have had more than 30 exhibitors, but for the Oct. 12–14 run, there were only 24 companies listed as exhibitors.

Because the first day of the show fell on Columbus Day, a holiday for some, there weren’t many buyers. But business picked up the second and third days.

A returning vendor was Aimee M, known for its unique prints, which have been copyrighted. Everything is made of recycled materials and vivid colors and designs. “We’ve had a lot of interest in made-in-America, and that is what we have,” said Dana Tomello, a promotional model with the Los Angeles company.

Aimee M concentrates on bottoms that wholesale for $34 to $36 and come in long and cropped silhouettes.

Another returning vendor at the show was Cozy Orange Yoga Apparel, whose designs encompass not only yoga clothing but casual and comfortable sweaters and bottoms made from recycled materials. “Yesterday was a little slow because of Columbus Day, but today, the second day, is better. There is a little buzz, and buyers are coming up here,” said Dalma Pszotka, a sales rep for the company, headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif.

She was seeing buyers from boutiques and yoga studios, which were from all over, including Sedona, Ariz., to check out the yoga apparel that wholesales for $20 to $45 and is manufactured in Taiwan and Cambodia.

A first-time exhibitor at the show was Jebecah Pret-a-Sport, a relatively new company owned by a mother-and-daughter team from Palm Springs, Calif. This was the first time they had ever shown at a trade show, even though they have walked several shows in the past to check them out. “We have not seen many buyers,” said Catherine Bentel, who co-owns the label with her mother, Hedy Bentel, a designer who got her training in Switzerland.

Their line is more sophisticated and crosses over into elegant loungewear made of a heavier rayon/spandex fabric that drapes nicely for the line’s dresses, jumpsuits, pants with pockets and shirred tops with a built-in bra.

Catherine Bentley was thinking that perhaps next time the company would show its line at the Select show, located on the ground floor of the CMC building, where there might be more foot traffic.