Boutique Lingerie Lands in London
Lingerie manufacturer Samantha Chang is taking her Boutique Lingerie trade show global. Chang hosted the first Boutique Lingerie show at the 54 Boutique Hotel in the South Kensington district of London during London Fashion Week last month.
Seventeen diverse brands showed in the Georgian-style townhouse across 10 rooms at the Sept. 16–18 event. Exhibitors included Fleur T England and Myla from the United Kingdom; Papinelle and Julianne from Australia; Lelo from Sweden; and Zovo, BedHead Pajamas and Wendy Glez from the United States. Among the 80 buyers that attended were key London retail outlets Harvey Nichols, FigLeaves.com and Fenwick.
“Because of my relationship with all the British designers, I was always curious to know why they don’t show in their own city. I realized there is a void,” Chang said. About 60 percent of the brands that exhibit at the New York edition of the Boutique Lingerie show are from the United Kingdom, according to Chang, who hosted the trade show with the support of the U.K. Fashion Export trade association.
Samia Khan, who has worked for Janet Reger and the London Fashion Council, contributed her marketing, sales and publicrelations experience to help Chang reach out to the London market.
“I think that everyone wanted to explore the market but weren’t able to because there was no show,” Chang said of the exhibitors. “They did the Paris show, but just like America, we have L.A. market, Atlanta market, New York market. It’s almost like one show isn’t enough. I think that’s the same concept.” Boutique Lingerie next heads to Los Angeles for its Oct. 26–29 run at the Gerry Building. For more information, visit www.boutiquelingerieshow.com.
—Rhea Cortado
