By KIMBERLY BERGER
The Las Vegas Curve Show experienced a face-lift last week in its new location at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show, which has been shrinking with every season for the last few years, made a move to join the extremely successful MAGIC trade show. Despite many lingerie vendors deciding to wait and see how the new venue played out, the turnout was good. Curve merged with the swimwear companies of ISAM to bring the vendor total to 290. Located in an adjacent, spacious room, the ambiance was professional and well organized, and the vibe was upbeat and enthusiastic.
Although the swimwear vendors of ISAM feel the merge is a positive alliance, the move to an adjacent room is viewed as a step backwards by many. ISAM has fought for years to be located in the heart of MAGIC and the significant drop in traffic caused by the move, hit the swimwear vendors hard. However, the intimates industry had a very different perspective. All of the lingerie vendors that I spoke to had only positive things to say about their experience in the new space. Many picked up new clients as a result of the increased traffic that MAGIC offered. By the 3rd day the buzz had reached the sleepwear vendors at the WWIN show and many were already making plans to join Curve at MAGIC in February 2016. The move seems to have injected a new spark of life into the intimates’ show that had been dying a slow death.
As a buyer who also attends many of the shows that run simultaneously (MAGIC, Project, WWIN, Off-price and Stitch) Curve’s new location was convenient and made for an extremely productive trip. It even allowed me a little extra time to accept Eveden’s invitation to speak at their Simply Swim seminar on Monday and Tuesday of the show. I suspect that although February’s show will attract less swimwear participants due to the winter season, the newly revitalized show will continue to grow and attract more lingerie and swimwear companies. The new Las Vegas Curve is destined to become a significant player in the trade show circuit. And, I’m sorry Sands Expo, as beautiful as the Venetian Hotel is, I won’t be missing you one bit.
