What are the sexiest new trends in lingerie? Who’s wearing what to the club? And what do the holidays bring in regard to lingerie retailing? Successful lingerie lines around the country clock in with up-to-the-minute information on style, color, and more.
Cathy Ann Whorley, sales executive for El Monte, Calif.-based Seven Til Midnight says the company will be presenting a number of new collections at the fall season International Lingerie Show in Las Vegas. “We have A Cut Above, which features fun, sexy cutouts and peek-a-boo areas, and our Glam Girl line, which provides a traditional, classic look that’s especially big for the holidays. We’re also highlighting sets with our cheeky panties.” Whorley notes that both lace and laceup styles are popular for the upcoming season.
This is the season where customers may add supplemental items to lingerie purchases, or go after something from our fantasy lingerie section that is a little more revealing. -Cathy Whorley, Seven 'Til Midnight
“We have our ‘All Wrapped Up’ that features a delicate but eye-catching lace-up back, styled like a corset, as well as lace-back teddies and babydolls with a lace back.” Seven Til Midnight has added some new, vibrant color selections to its holiday mix. “We brought in an intensive berry and a vivacious pink candy color that really pop, and we have our version of Kelly green, Mint Condition.” For both Halloween and as holiday stocking stuffers, Seven Til Midnight offers popular items such as lace masks, satin bondage ties and gloves. Whorley feels that Halloween inspires customers to “think outside the box” where lingerie and costume items are concerned. “This is the season where customers may add supplemental items to lingerie purchases, or go after something from our fantasy lingerie section that is a little more revealing. Our lamé gloves, our teddies and our cat suits all do very well around this time.” Clubwear is also trending for Seven Til Midnight, Whorley says. “Our seamless dresses are a top item, because it’s so flexible, foldable, one-size-fits-all. It looks good with something on underneath it or alone, and it’s very airy and light to wear. We also have chemises that are long enough to wear as a tunic dress that look stunning in the club scene.”
As for the International Lingerie Show itself, Whorley feels the show impacts her business positively by allowing a lot of client contact. “Meeting our customers face to face puts us on the map,” Whorley said. Seven to Midnight supports its retailers with posters, planograms and summary pages about their products.
“DVDs particularly help our online retailers. Especially for ILS, we have a DVD that provides complete information on our lines, from images to codes and style numbers, all in one disc,” Whorley said. “That information is also accessible through our website.”
At ILS, the Rene Rofe Sexy and Pink Lipstick collections will be getting “significant updates,” according to Creative Director Wilson Kello. “We’re now offering many of our proven bestsellers in multiple color ways.”
Kello discussed the bestsellers from the collections. “Our standout holiday bestseller is the Unwrap Me Satin Bow Teddy, [style No.] 20004,” he said. Originally we offered it in red only, but now we’re making red, black, white and hot pink. This sexy teddy transforms you into the perfect holiday gift! We have a follow-up piece that’s also moving plenty of units, the Big Bow Flyaway Chemise Set, [style No.] 512103-RED. And of course our all-time bestseller, the Hollywood Chemise Set, [style No.] 512037, now available in red, hot pink and black.”
During the holidays, shoppers are looking for materials and designs that are more elaborate. “Customers want to make a bigger splash around the holidays, so the year-round basics take a back seat to pieces that have a little more going on,” Kello said. “More lace — especially eyelash lace — more satin, and more constructed pieces stand out during the fourth quarter. Obviously red is the color of choice, but it’s important that it either be a major statement, like the bow, or spiced up with lace and garters, like the Hollywood Chemise.”
For Halloween, customers are looking for outfits that they can make their own.
“Pink Lipstick is a perfect base for sexy Halloween costumes.” Kello said. “Many of our top retailers already merchandise Pink Lipstick with costume accessories on the sales floor. Add cat ears and whiskers to the Tease To Please Seamless Dress (25074-BLK), and meow! Put on a hat and some black nail polish with the Spider-Back Mini Dress (25061-BLK), and become a sexy witch. You can turn white dresses like the Party In The Back Mini Dress (25051-WHT) into a bunny or an angel with the quick addition of ears or wings. And in a flash, the Juicebox Seamless Bodysuit (25036-RED) becomes a horny little devil!”
At Dreamgirl International, marketing director Lar Hovsepian is excited to launch the company’s fall and holiday catalog at ILS. “For the fall season we have a lot of black, which does well really in any season. We also have a luxurious emerald gem stone color, which we’ve been carrying for a couple of years, and we continue to add pieces in that shade, including a satin set which has a classic, European look, and sapphire, a great, bold color that’s a real standout in the bedroom, and which we’ve just taken into satin. We’ve also added pieces with silver lace details and shimmer-mesh. For the holidays, there’s a vibrant lipstick red, which we’re using for our famous Beyoncé corset. Fuchsia also does very well, and we’ve added some exciting retro styles including a black velvet teddy that’s very Marilyn Monroe. It comes with opera length gloves trimmed in maribou.” Hovsepian finds that Halloween leads customers to experimentation and draws sales to Dreamgirl’s Red Diamond Collection which features cutouts and themed costumes like school girl, cop and airline stewardesses. “Our lacy apron maids do very well in the bedroom, too,” Hovespian relates. For clubwear, Dreamgirl sells a lot of pieces that “show skin. Our customers like a unique cut-out or a key hole ring. For colors, club-goers seek out bright shades like red and gold, as well as the traditional little black dress.”
For Dreamgirl International, the International Lingerie Show is a great way to connect with customers. It also “adds a dimension to every garment, when attendees get to see the them on the runway, in the flesh.” Dreamgirl also offers incentives for buyers, which don’t require ILS attendance, but springboard from there. “We’re offering a special discount off spring and summer styles featuring flirty colors,” Hovespian reports. Dreamgirl supports retailers through planograms in the back of their catalogs, POS materials, and magnetic blades that can stand out of a peg or slat wall. “We have seasonal, peel-off stickers for the blades so that the Dreamgirl section within any retail store always looks fresh.”
Helle Panzieri, Baci Lingerie’s sales director, says she’s excited to present all-new additions to Baci’s White Label collection at ILS. “It’s a concise line of styles featuring strappy looks and bold colors. The trendy theme of playful bondage seems to be holding strong, which is partially what inspired our newest White Label designs.” Along with these items, Baci has a wide selection of Dreams Bedroom Costumes for Halloween, as well as a vibrant range of accessories for holiday stocking stuffers. “Halloween absolutely inspires couples to explore bedroom costumes,” she said. “The classics are always a hit — schoolgirls and nurses.” ILS is an important show for Baci, Panzieri says. “It’s where we see our core clientele.” Baci offers its partners and resellers a wide array of support material. “It’s available as downloads on our FTP server, as well as physical POP merchandising and catalogs available from our distributors.”
Barbara Bauer, national sales manager for Magic Silk, and Jeff Baker, company president, each weigh in on ILS and lingerie trends. Bauer says the company will be introducing three new Exposed collection pieces at the fall show. “Black Magic, Forget-Me-Not and Sparkling Sensations, available for November 2015 delivery.” Bauer will also be showing boy short and G-string multi-packs, as well as a new line of embellished G-strings, all in new package designs.
Bauer notes that lace, wet look and metallic are all popular for Magic Silk.
“For our Exposed fall 2015 new collections, our goal was to fill the need for these multiple categories. The Black Magic collection combines our black liquid onyx and fishnet fabrics for a sexy wet look. Our Forget-Me-Not lace collection is available in both black and raspberry, and focuses on a timeless floral lace look that flatters any body. Last but not least, our new Sparkling Sensations collection is made of a stretchy metallic fabric in gold and red, with sexy twists and plunging necklines.” For the holidays there’s more sparkle in Magic Silk’s Sparkling Sensations Collection, which Bauer calls a “no brainer for this holiday season” in gold and red. According Bauer, current trends in clubwear vary. “While the sexy ‘little black dress’ never goes out of style, neon colors and metallic fabrics are hot, too. Our most popular club styles are catsuits and dresses that are from the Club Seamless line, and customers can add underlay options from our other lines like Liquid Metal, Glitz and Neon Mesh for a pop of color.” Bauer feels that the success of all these items comes from their ability to be worn either as lingerie or out in public paired together.
As for Halloween, Magic Silk president Jeff Baker cites schoolgirls, secretaries, maids and nurses as the most popular outfits for dress-up fantasies inspired by the holiday. Baker also discusses the value of ILS. “It’s a very critical show for us to gauge the popularity of new collections, and to seek feedback on future plans. Face-to-face meetings are critical to establishing strong relationships, so the show is extremely important to our yearly success. We have the opportunity to discuss marketing support and other ways to serve our customers.” And speaking of support, Baker notes that both his Magic Silk and Male Power lines provide plenty for retailers in the form of posters, custom booklets, canvas print wall art, and by supporting in-store events with free giveaways. “We like to collaborate with our customers so we can understand what will work best for them. Last year we purchased planogram software that allows us to send presentations to be viewed exactly as the product will display on their walls.”
