California Apparel News

At Curve Las Vegas, held Feb. 5–7 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, organizers wanted to bring sexy back. With the addition of the Kinky Korner—an area devoted to showcasing luxurious, provocative lingerie from international and emerging brands—organizers introduced collections that did not have a booth at the show.

“We have Fräulein Kink here with incredible outfits that could be $2,000 each,” said Marion Pradier Sentucq, Curve’s director of sales and branding. “We’ve collected so many leads for these brands. It’s a new format for us because it’s not a booth and they don’t have a team here. Basically, we’re the team.”

Chatsworth, Calif.–based lingerie company The Felina Group received orders mostly from buyers based in the Western region of the United States. With wholesale prices ranging from $17 to $35, Vice President of Sales Rob Gardner saw demand for bralettes, full-figure styles, strapless designs and loungewear.

Gardner felt the show this year was better compared to last year, but he believed traffic would have been heavier if there hadn’t been competition from other shows in the same category that were being held during the same time.

“The industry did not help itself this year by having ILS [the International Lingerie Show] the same week and New York Market the same week,” he said. “It’s counterproductive.”

Looking to expand her inventory, which currently includes clothing, shoes and accessories, Kathy Baker, owner of the Fun Fashions Boutique in Stanfield, Ore., attended Curve Las Vegas with her sister and sales associate, Vicky Veliz.

“It’s been wonderful. They are very accommodating online and on any of the phone numbers you call,” said Baker, who was looking for pieces that wholesale from $15 to $25. “I placed an order with Claudel Lingerie, and there is a brand-new line of panties from Portland, Ore., called Evelyn Bobbie, which I will probably order.”

Beyond the lingerie segment, Beach Joy Bikini, a Los Angeles–based company, saw a lot of traffic as buyers from South America, Puerto Rico and California placed orders for swimwear and resort pieces that wholesale between $20 and $145.

“For us, traffic has been really good,” Merchandise Manager Melody Dong said of the demand for solids in teal and coral, tropical prints, textured materials, and animal prints in snake or leopard. “This show has been good for us for a long time because buyers know us and come directly here. We’ve been busy with appointments.”