Curve New York Fall 2019 ~ My Take

By ELLEN LEWIS

NATURAL skin Organic Essentials on Lingerie BriefsNATURAL skin
Organic Essentials

There was a definite uptick at CurvExpo in February. The show was larger, the layout was friendlier and the special events were pertinent to the current cultural shifts impacting the industry. For my part, as a veteran Intimates merchant, it’s still all about product and the social movements that guide its development. I was able to solidify my thoughts on subjects that are driving consumer’s choices, and as always, identify particular trends that influence design.

Writing a recap about Curve NY is always an interesting enterprise. For me this show, more than any of the others that I attend, is a serious look at the mainstream brands that feed a store’s bottom line. Maybe it’s New York City, where time is always of the essence or perhaps it’s the Intimate Apparel business in the USA. One thing for sure, the products and pursuits are different than other venues I visit for research. The whole thing comes down to attitude. We are a country of practicality. It seems that the rest of the world looks at Lingerie from a more poetic point of view. Of course practicality is an important factor abroad and of course, American women enjoy fashion. But the cultural instincts that determines which comes first are definitely reversed. Just look at the images harvested from the recent Salon International de la Lingerie

Chantelle soft stretch on Lingerie BriefsChantelle

Here’s my take: I begin with the casual home-wear, every-wear, lounge-wear, sleep-wear, or leisure-wear  category, because that’s where I believe the Americans dominate , that and everyday lingerie. Casual  is much more interesting at this show than in Europe. That’s not to say it’s more prolific and be assured, some of the European brands fit right in. As prudish as the Americans can be about their bras, these days they expect their sleep and loungewear to be crossover worthy. New shapes are emerging or should I say re-emerging as tap pants, loose bike pants, classic slips, appear in collections. Bodywear  and corsetry continue to play an important role in crossing boundaries. Even bridal is becoming casual. The key element is light weight fabrics, translucence and simplicity. On this side of the pond embroidery and guipure are pared down. Thank goodness for the French!  The infusion of European and Latin American design elements into the intimates market has helped to inform bra and panty inventories as well as design. However basic, functional choices still controls the American foundations market. Many brands are focusing on their best sellers with innovations, renovations and color options. Design details, back interest, side interest, and strap interest complement simple t-shirt bras.  And of course, harking back to the casual mentality born in this country, the wire-free and bralette craze just gets more intense. Technical details are powering the shapewear category as well as sports bras and their coordinate panties and leggings etc. Animal Prints are everywhere, leopard, snake and more. Color remains a game changer (as I mentioned) for basic goods, but the injection of yellows, greens, cinnamon and stone hues are a welcome counter to the always popular pinks, reds, blues and purples. Large painterly prints from florals to abstracts are saturated with these hues.

This market is over $15 billion and that doesn’t include swimwear.  Moving the needle on that number is no easy feat, but moving the needle on elements of the business is definitely an option. We’ll be looking at that concept quite a lot in the next few months.

PJ Salvage on Lingerie BriefsP.J. Salvage

Commando on Lingerie Briefs

Commando

Commando on Lingerie Briefs

Commando

Samantha Chang on Lingerie BriefsSamantha Chang

Pluto on Lingerie BriefsPluto

Only Hearts on Lingerie BriefsOnly Hearts

Christine Silk on Lingerie BriefsChristine Silk

Laurence Tavernier on Lingerie BriefsLaurence Tavernier

Else Lingerie on Lingerie BriefsElse

Skin Lingerie on Lingerie BriefsSkin

Skin Lingerie on Lingerie BriefsSkin

Calida on Lingerie BriefsCalida

Lejaby on Lingerie BriefsMaison Lejaby

munki munki on Lingerie BriefsMunki Munki

Underprotection on Lingerie BriefsUnderprotection

munki munki on Lingerie BriefsMunki Munki

Fleur’t

Ellipse on Lingerie BriefsEllipse

Implicite on Lingerie BriefsImplicite

Clo on Lingerie BriefsCLO

Jolidon on Lingerie BriefsJolidon

Montelle on Lingerie BriefsMontelle

Montelle on Lingerie BriefsEwa Bien

Implicite on Lingerie BriefsImplicite

Le Mystere on Lingerie BriefsLe Mystere

Le Mystere on Lingerie BriefsLe Mystere

Simone Perele on Lingerie BriefsSimone Perele

Chantelle on Lingerie BriefsChantelle

Cosabella on Lingerie BriefsCosabella

Skarlett Blue on Lingerie BriefsSkarlett Blue

Simone Perele on Lingerie BriefsSimone Perele

Natori on Lingerie BriefsNatori

Ewa Bien on Lingerie BriefsEwa Bien

Anita on Lingerie BriefsAnita

Maison Lejaby as featured on Lingerie BriefsMaison Lejaby

Va Bien as featured on Lingerie BriefsVa Bien

Hanky Panky as featured on Lingerie BriefsHanky Panky

Anita as featured on Lingerie BriefsAnita

Curvy Couture as featured on Lingerie BriefsCurvy Couture

Skin Swimwear as featured on Lingerie BriefsSkin Swimwear

Cadolle as featured on Lingerie BriefsCadolle

Ginia as featured on Lingerie BriefsGinia

 

Empreinte as featured on Lingerie BriefsEmpreinte

The Little Bra Company as featured on Lingerie BriefsThe Little Bra Company

Laurence Tavernier as featured on Lingerie BriefsLaurence Tavernier

Lise Charmel as featured on Lingerie BriefsLise Charmel

Lise Charmel as featured on Lingerie BriefsLise Charmel

Christine Silk

Elila as featured on Lingerie BriefsElila

Curvy Couture as featured on Lingerie BriefsCurvy Couture

Mari M as featured on Lingerie BriefsMari M

Lise Charmel as featured on Lingerie BriefsLise Charmel

Lise Charmel as featured on Lingerie BriefsLise Charmel

Lise Charmel as featured on Lingerie BriefsLise Charmel

Ellipse as featured on Lingerie BriefsEllipse

Sculptress featured on Lingerie BriefsSculptress

Natori featured on Lingerie BriefsNatori

Icone as featured on Lingerie BriefsIcone

Josie Natori as featured on Lingerie BriefsJosie Natori

Panache as featured on Lingerie BriefsPanache

Triumph

Sculptress as featured on Lingerie BriefsSculptress

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 Discussion to this post

  1. […] Lingerie Briefs: Curve New York Fall 2019 ~ My Take The Lingerie Journal: CURVENEWYORK February 2019 Recap The Lingerie Journal: CURVENEWYORK February […]

  2. Ellen says:

    I work in a lingerie boutique and am partial to the likes of Empriente, Simone Perele and Van de Velde. But, what do I like out of this edit the most? The comforter robe from Skin! 😄

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