California Apparel News

MIAMI BEACH, FLA.—Swimwear consumers are losing interest in safe bets and swim basics, retailers reported at Swim Show 2011, held July 17–19 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, and at Salon Allure, a new boutique swimwear show at the W Hotel that ran concurrently with the Swim Show.

Buyers descended on the trade shows in search of freshness and specialty swimwear. “Our shoppers are being bolder in their buys, so we have to follow suit,” said Ashley Demsmore, manager and buyer for Island Water Sports in Deerfield Beach, Fla. “They’re staying away from anything too simple and buying the ’pop’ pieces instead.”

Buyers from Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret, Free People, Anthropologie, Neiman Marcus, Everything But Water, Saks Fifth Avenue, Intermix, Shopbop and more searched the trade show aisles for swimwear and coverups that would meet and exceed shoppers’ expectations. (By night, buyers scouted trends on the runways at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim at The Raleigh as well as other events around Miami Beach.) Exhibitors at both Swim Show and the inaugural Salon Allure also reported seeing key East Coast and international retailers from Canada, Europe, Australia and South America.

Judy Stein, the Swimwear Association of Florida’s executive show director and organizer of Swim Show 2011, said she saw much stronger retailer attendance and exhibitor turnout than last year. “This year was a phenomenal success. We couldn’t have been more excited about the caliber of designers or the multitude of buyers who showed ready to do business,” Stein said. The exhibitor roster grew approximately 10 percent over last year’s edition. Final retailer-attendance figures were not fully tallied.

Attendance figures for Salon Allure were not available at press time, but exhibitors were pleased with the buyers who shopped the show. Co-organizer Red Carter, whose eponymous swim line showed at Salon Allure, said the intimate show meets a need in the market. “Smaller and upstart brands can get lost in big convention centers. We believe in launching new brands, and in this atmosphere they not only don’t get lost, but they can showcase their suits in an atmosphere that actually feels like ’swim.’ You can see the ocean right outside the window,” Carter said.Anything but the usual

Despite the still-struggling economy, price wasn’t the driving factor at Swim Show and Salon Allure. Topping many shopping lists were suits that featured fashion-forward prints and skimpier cuts, unique fabrications or touched-upon ready-to-wear trends. Unusual fabrications were popular among contemporary and designer swim lines.

Undrest, a 1-year-old contemporary swim line out of Los Angeles, showed tiny suits cut from cotton in vintage-inspired Liberty prints and trimmed in crochet. Bikini Thief, a sweet new contemporary swim line from New York–based designer Whitney Adresen, included a capsule of certifiably hip maternity suits. Koral, a new contemporary swimwear line based out of Los Angeles, found success with bikinis cut from velour. Designer Ivana Sert, whose over-the-top swimwear was featured in the “Sex and the City 2” movie this spring, showed coverups made from laser-cut leather at Salon Allure.

Brands rooted in the action-sports market—such as Billabong, O’Neill, Lost, Rusty, Tavik and Volcom—took a two-fold approach. While they continued to offer suits with ever-more contemporary styling, they also injected their collections with women’s boardshorts that offer the functionality of their men’s technical boardshorts but styled for a fashionable girl.

As some brands sought to stand out, others tried to become more accessible.

Designer brand Rosa Cha came to Swim Show to reinvent itself. Known for its super-skimpy cuts and non-stretch fabrications, the collection debuted a new approach for Resort 2011. Featuring traditional swim fabrics and a slightly fuller “international” cut, the collection is still fashion-forward but targets a less exclusive customer.

Manhattan Beachwear, which designs and manufactures the Hobie, 24th & Ocean and Kenneth Cole Reaction as well as the new Nanette Lepore Swim and Bikini Lab collections, put an emphasis on plus-size suits for juniors. For 2011, the company added plus-size suits to its Hobie, Bikini Lab and 24th & Ocean lines. “There is a huge opportunity in the plus-size market. No one is designing young, fashionable suits for that consumer,” said Manhattan Beachwear’s Brenda West. The company tested tankini, boy-leg and one-piece plus-size suits last season with its private-label clients, and the success of the experiment warranted a company-wide shift, she said.

Brand expansion

Familiar names from other sectors of the apparel industry made a splash at this year’s swim shows with the debut of swimwear categories. Nanette Lepore Swim reported a strong debut, selling a collection that features prints straight from the Los Angeles designer’s Spring 2011 collection. The brand’s coverups featured trims, stone details and even silhouettes pulled straight from the ready-to-wear collection.

Spanx, the Atlanta-based maker of supportive undergarments for women and men, launched a collection of women’s swimwear at Swim Show. Like its cult-favorite body-sculpting underwear, Spanx’s swimwear has a slimming effect on the wearer, said Maggie Adams, the brand’s public-relations manager.

Other apparel companies that debuted swim lines in Miami included French Connection and Los Angeles–based lines Miss Me and Hale Bob.

Canadian swimwear designer Anna Kosturova added a capsule of Lycra suits to her eponymous all-crochet line. “Some retailers are afraid of an all-crochet bikini. They love it, but they don’t know if their customers will. This way, they can buy the brand and offer the option of pairing one crochet piece back to a traditional Lycra top or bottom. It also brings the price down a little bit,” Kosturova said.

Men’s swimwear, which represents a tiny fraction of Swim Show’s offerings, got a toe-hold on the market this season. For the first time ever, Swim Show’s exhibitor roster included a men’s-only swim collection, Parke & Ronen. “Exhibitors with both men’s and women’s collections in their lines often show here. But they are our very first stand-alone men’s brand,” Swim Show’s Stein said. The response from buyers is such that Stein foresees adding more men’s-only brands next year.