The Miami swim shows generate excitement for swimwear.
With new divisions, expanded product and an unprecedented focus on cover-ups that cross over to all occasions, manufacturers at SwimShow 2007 are chasing new markets as true fashion players.
Around 2,000 lines will gather at the Miami Beach Convention Center July 15-19, where an estimated 2,500 buyers are expected to attend the event. A fashion show on Sunday, July 16, at the Jackie Gleason Theater, adjacent to the convention center, will feature products from most of the lines at the show.
Sponsored by the Swimwear Association of Florida, a Miami-based organization of more than 300 swimwear sales representatives, along with Lycra and SWIM, the New York-based Swimwear Industry Manufacturer’s Association, the SwimShow is in its second year at the South Beach location. Last year’s move came after 20 years at the Radisson Mart Center, near the Miami International airport. Executive show director Judy Stein said the move to South Beach has raised the show’s profile and energized the event.
SwimShow attracts national buyers representing major retailers such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, as well as specialty chains, such as Barney’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, Limited Too and Pacific Sunwear. The show also draws Florida-based specialty swimwear chains, such as Everything But Water and Swim ‘N Sport.
Also drawing retailers to the area this year is the second edition of the Sunglass Hut Swim Shows Miami, launched by IMG and held nightly in tents at the nearby Raleigh Hotel. (For more on this event, see page 16.) Though unrelated to the SwimShow, the two events have created a synergy for Miami as a swim center, said Stein.
“The SAF show is great for the retailer, while the IMG show promotes select resources. The goal is to create excitement around swimwear.”
Peter Rubin, president of SWIM and of A&H Sportswear, parent company of multiline swimwear resources including Miracle Suit and Mainstream, said manufacturers are coming off a good swimwear season, despite challenges including retail consolidation, a highly promotional environment and the pressures of meeting deadlines for off-shore production.
On the positive side, Rubin said separates, mix-and-match tops and bottoms and an unprecedented boom in cover-up sales have helped the swimwear industry this year.
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Manufacturers are focusing on fashion and design, turning what was once a seasonal necessity into a fashion statement and a wardrobe of swimwear, cover-ups and accessories. From dressy embellished caftans, pareos and kimonos to sporty activewear separates, cover-ups are moving from the beach to the street and beyond, with versatility that is ringing up multiple sales for retailers.
Sheree Waterson, president of Speedo, which will have a 2,500-square-foot booth at the show, said women’s fashion, accessories and footwear are Speedo’s fastest growing areas. Axcelerate, the fashion swimwear brand launched last year by Speedo, is expanding as much as 50 percent in some areas, including cover-ups and footwear.
“The line is a performance fusion of fashion and sports — very Sixties, James Bond inspired,” said Waterson. Along with more versions of the boy-leg silhouette and more solid swimsuits, the activewear line has expanded to include more dresses, shorts, skirts and separates to mix with swimwear and wear as streetwear.
“We’re definitely emphasizing the cool factor,” she said. “We’re evolving from a functional brand to an emotional lifestyle brand.”
At Warnaco Swim Group, producer of the Nautica, Michael Kors, Anne Cole and Calvin Klein brands, among others, cover-ups that can be worn everywhere, from the gym to black-tie events, are a key category across all brands.
“Cover-ups had the biggest growth at retail this year,” said Mark Rutta, vice president, sales, designer swimwear, for Warnaco. “Retailers are all asking for more cover-ups.”
Ready-to-wear, from tops to skirts and dresses in luxurious silk and cotton blends, is 40 percent of the collection for Brazil-based Rosa Cha. The designer swimwear line, priced $60 to $150 wholesale, is heavy on bikinis, in mixed textures, prints and fabrics.
“The line is sensual, with a global approach to how people dress, beyond just skinny bikinis people associate with Brazil,” said Amir Slama, designer and president.
Slama, who will participate in SwimShow and at the IMG runway shows, likes the dual exposure and the opportunity Miami offers Rosa Cha to reach U.S., Caribbean and Mexican buyers.
That opportunity to stand out is important in an industry where consolidation is the norm. Many companies are looking to build brand portfolios and target customer demographics with new divisions. Rather than label customers by age, as in the past, manufacturers are concentrating on individual differences in fit, offering separates, bra-size suits and updated styling, even in traditional lines.
“We’re lifestyle marketers,” said Howie Greller, president of Blue Water Design Group, a multiline division of Apparel Ventures. “Through multiple brands, we’re following the demographics of population and the money being spent.”
The company will launch the Trina Turk Swim and Spa Collection at SwimShow. Targeting a true designer customer, the line is a print-driven, California lifestyle line, with 25 percent of merchandise devoted to cover-ups, including loungewear.
At New York-based swimwear label Lisa Curran, sales increased 45 percent this year, according to owner and designer Lisa Curran, who said retailers are demanding unique styling and constant newness.
“Competition is tough, with overseas production and discounting by other designers because of too much inventory,” said Curran. “We design our own fabrics and prints, with new inspiration each season and newness every three to four months,” she said. This year, her line is inspired by the Fifties, with polkadots and painted flowers, and by glam rock, with shiny and metallic gold details.
Curran has expanded the line 40 percent, adding more swimwear and resortwear to reach a growing number of new accounts, including several Ritz Carlton hotels and The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.
At Manhattan Beachwear, a New York-based swimwear manufacturer with lines such as Kenneth Cole Reaction and Split, newness, frequent deliveries and more cover-ups are key. The company is updating its entire brand portfolio, including traditional misses’ lines Via Marina and Maxine.
“Swimwear is a long short season,” said Geti Margolese, president of Kenneth Cole Reaction. “We have to give buyers replenishment and newness in the stores.”
Expanding the line and adding cover-ups for the first time, Reaction will include more ribbed knit and crochet suits, tankinis and skirted bottoms.
“We used to label swimwear according to age, but now women are younger in body, mind and spirit,” said Margolese, adding that fit is essential, but style is individual and every woman wants to look fashionable, regardless of age.
To help solve fit and style issues, separates, which allow consumers to buy a different size bottom and top and even mix and match styles, have evolved from a mostly junior phenomenon and are now offered by most contemporary and misses’ lines, including Perfectly Fit by Calvin Klein, a new bra-size separates division with around 40 pieces that will make its debut at SwimShow 2007.
“We’re not going to compete on price, so we have to stress design,” said Blue Water Design Group’s Greller. “We’re surrounding ourselves with creative talent, doing the research, the product development and taking fashion risks. In this environment, we don’t play it safe. The bestsellers are always the most original ideas.”
TRENDCAST
According to designers attending SwimShow, a number of new trends for cruise 2007 will be on display in Miami, including:
- Global influences — African tribal, Indian and Asian — with accompanying embellishments.
- Hardware, in belt buckles, D-rings and grommets, as well as jewelry details that could almost be worn as separate items.
- Feminine, romantic influences show up in lace, ruffles, crochet and other textures combined with small prints or vintage florals.
- Nods to the Fifties and Sixties in the form of polkadots, halters, hipsters and boy legs.
- Brown, mixed with pastel blues and pinks, dominates, but jewel tones emerge along with a wide range of reds and blues.
This article appeared in WWD Swim, a special supplement to WWD available to subscribers.