California Apparel News

CurveNV, the lingerie and swim show run by CurvExpo, a division of European trade show producer Eurovet, moved back to its third-floor venue at The Venetian for its Aug. 19-20 run in Las Vegas.

Betty Wells of Wells Apparel Group, which represents Mary Green, said there was a “buzz” on the floor.

“To see everyone so busy is exciting,” she said.

Wells said business for the San Francisco–based lingerie and loungewear line was also buzzing.

“We do a ‘40s gown nobody else does," she said, adding that business has been helped by lingerie’s crossover into ready-to-wear.

“People wear as loungewear; they wear it out,” she said. “People wear it to weddings.”

Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, CurvExpo’s chief executive officer, said buyers were responding well to the show’s two-day format and the “pampering” treatment of VIPs.

“We’re targeting the best stores,” he said. “The quality of the people here is clearly increased.”

Exhibitors said they were pleased with the show’s social-media outreach and its online appointment feature, Hustel said, adding that nearly 700 appointments were booked in advance of the Las Vegas show and 1,300 were booked for CurveNY, CurvExpo’s show in New York earlier this summer.

“We are helping them give the exposure through these tools—to put them in direct contact with retailers,” he said.

For swim exhibitors, Hurstel said, Curve provides an opportunity to reach retailers in California, Texas, Chicago and Nevada, as well as international retailers from Canada, Japan and Mexico.

Organizers are looking to make CurveNV a “West-of-the-world, international show,” Hurstel said.

Debby Martin, national sales and retail marketing manager for Irvine, Calif.–based L*Space, said she was surprised by the steady business at the show.

“I got some good key accounts—resorts, mom and pops, some lingerie companies that carry swimwear, people we didn’t see in Miami [at the Miami SwimShow],” she said.

L*Space has had a crowded trade show calendar this summer, starting with SwimShow in July, followed by Swim Collective in Huntington Beach, Calif., in August, then CurveNV, then on to Surf Expo in September.

“We’re on the trade show train,” Martin said, praising Curve for its ability to draw new potential customers.

“This platform is usually for companies that don’t go to Miami,” she said. “We get a lot of new accounts, [including] lingerie stores looking to add swim.”

That’s a plus for L*Space, which incorporates lingerie inspiration in its swimwear—and may expand into the category in the future.

“It is on the horizon, for sure,” Martin said.

Overall, Martin said, the company was pleased with the turnout at CurveNV."

“We’re pleased,” she said. “Everyone seems happy with deliveries. No [price] resistance, especially for new accounts. They come ready to place dollars.”