By ELLEN LEWIS
The retail swim season takes off this month as winter sets in and the big escape begins. I confess that I am no swimwear maven, but I have been exposed to the category during my entire Lingerie career. Swimwear shares many of the fit and function issues as innerwear, particularly bras, panties and shapewear. It’s an important category for many Intimate Apparel boutiques, because it shares the same concerns with body issues with which women often struggle. Most of the brands featured here are experts in foundations engineering and are already ensconced in a retailer’s inventory. If a store’s Open to Buy can handle this category, it provides an excellent channel of business as they build brand equity in their shops. Boutiques such as Sylenes in Washington, Town Shop in New York and Lions’ Lair in Florida prove my point. I culled through many images to identify a few Spring trends: animal, tropical and dot prints, vital solids with a strong emphasis on Blue, an infusion of brown and always black. I am particularly intrigued by Anita’s use of Econyl®, a fabric made from regenerated nylon like fishing nets. Wolford’s continued development of 3D printing on bras is now available in their swim collection. Innovation in fabric technology and construction is not only the lifeline of lingerie development but also critical to the swimwear business. That is why, these brands are real contenders.
