ATTENTION! Lingerie Retailers – New York Fashion Week Affects YOU This Spring

By ALI CUDBY

Innerwear-as-outerwear is a venerable favorite at New York Fashion Week, and this year was no exception.

Commando brand was decidedly a fashionista favorite, being intentionally shown under sheer looks at Monique Lhuiller, Tadashi Shoji and others. Their two-faced tech shapewear slips were also worn as skirts in looks at Milly.

Says designer Kerry O’Brien, “Commando’s high-waisted panties and shapewear briefs were having a moment on the runways at New York Fashion Week!  We’re known for invisible raw-cut comfort, so it’s very exciting to have our products showing intentionally as a key part of top designers styling their sheer looks. The sheer trend is big for spring and our undergarments provide the coverage needed to pull them off with confidence.”

Knowing the spring trends for clothing is important for lingerie retailers for three reasons:

1)     Expertise: Customers look to you for foundational advice in their wardrobe. When you are well-versed in the lingerie implications of the latest trends, it allows you to come across to your customers as an expert and keep your customers fashion forward.

2)     Stock Your Product: Knowing that these lingerie elements will cross over into mainstream fashion says you need to assess your stock accordingly. Get your product orders in early – the last thing you want to discover is that these hot items are back-ordered and you’re losing money (and customers) as a result.

3)     Think ahead: Not every store will approach the sheer fashions the same way. Consider your customers and what works best for them. It’s great to showcase the fashions as they appear on the runway, but also consider ways to offer modifications to customers who aren’t quite ready to go all-in. The innerwear-as-outerwear trend also becomes a great opportunity to partner with a nearby clothing boutique. Feature a mannequin wearing their clothes with your lingerie, and have them do the same. Just think of the benefits from having TWO stores selling the spring lingerie trends!

Thinking strategically about applying the spring fashion trends to your store provides smart retailers real opportunity to increase both customer loyalty AND sales.