NEW YORK — Budget cuts have changed the dynamics of Invista’s twice-yearly intimate apparel workshop.
Gone is the video footage of lingerie trends captured on ready-to-wear runways in Europe and the U.S. and at two trade show venues in France — the Salon International de la Lingerie de Paris and the Lyon, Mode City fair in Lyon.
Kim Scheffler, intimate apparel business manager at Invista Inc., said the costs of paying for fashion copyrights as well as model fees is the primary reason Invista decided to drop fashion show coverage.
Another first-time cost-cutting measure will be the elimination of a complimentary workshop for a majority of mills, manufacturers, designers and merchandisers, said Scheffler.
“We’re continuing this trend service for our best customers who will continue to receive this service free of charge. For clients who are not our best customers, private sessions will cost $500 per company,” she said. Scheffler noted the reason for the fee included “cost reasons,” as well as what she described as a “lack of awareness” of the workshop’s benefits. She explained the workshop is an important database of directional trends and concepts that has either been widely used by scores of industry executives or, in some cases, sparsely attended.
In addition to its “best customer” base, Scheffler said the workshop will continue to be complimentary for retailers and the media.
The seminar has been staged by Invista and its former owner, DuPont, for 15 years by Iris LeBron, fashion director of intimate apparel, swimwear and activewear. The presentation now will focus exclusively on trend boards, fabric swatches, directional items purchased in Europe and a few prototype styles rendered in a variety of Invista’s microfiber blends including Tactel, Supplex, CoolMax and Lycra Soft.
Last spring, Invista discontinued its long-established ready-to-wear workshop headed by Roseann Ford, which also was staged twice a year.
Regarding the current workshop, which was staged at the Invista offices at 1430 Broadway here, LeBron outlined the overriding theme of four groups: a smorgasbord of shine, whether it’s a lustrous “look-at-me” high luster or an “elegant, sophisticated” matte shine, she said. The two main elements of the shine story are underscored by Invista’s two most recent introductions — Tactel Estrela, a bright polyamide 6.6 polymer that’s been modified to give the highest level of light reflection, and Tactel Hyperbright, which consists of high tech polyamide 6.6 yarns rendered in numerous ultrafine filaments that reflect a jewel-like quality.
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Both the Tactel Estrela and Hyperbright microfiber blends fit into four luster groups: Dazzle, which features engineered Textronics lace and blends of silk and Lycra spandex; Radiance, a group that highlights a play of high-shine and matte finishes; Illusion, which is dedicated to shapewear that has an understated brilliance, and Reflection, an update of basic foundations and daywear in performance fabrics such as Supplex and the Lycra Body Care program. Lycra Body Care focuses on microincapsulation of moisturizing agents such as aloe vera, vitamin E and sea kelp in fabrics and fibers that soothe and scent the skin.
“We don’t try to lock anything into a season any longer,” said LeBron. “The concept products and fabrics for spring ’05 could easily go into fall ’05.”