Moda Lingerie & Swimwear looks ahead following season of success
By FashionUnited
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With an overall increase in visitor numbers of 5% compared to last February’s show
The fashion trade event assembled more than 265 lingerie, hosiery, swimwear, sleep and loungewear brands from across the globe at the NEC Birmingham between 16-18 February. Both buyers and brands at the show indicated a growing confidence across the hall as reports of good quality orders emerged over the three day show.
Moda Boutique, the area dedicated to niche and boutique collections returned for its second season in Moda Lingerie & Swimwear with a host of debuting brands including KS Paris, Charlotte & Co., Evollove and Pleasure State benefitting from the stand out space. Leona Henry, sales manager for Evollove and Pleasure State said: “Boutique is an absolutely fantastic area and we have taken good orders and have had a lot of interest in the brand, which is great for raising our profile in the UK.”
Sharing the same sentiment, many new brands attending the show this season looked upon Moda as an opportunity to grow their UK presence and widen their markets. Among the brands finding the event particularly beneficial for this, Emma Wessman of Swedish based lingerie brand PJ Salvage said: “We have only been in the UK for a year so this has been a first trade event so we didn’t know what to expect but we have been received very positively with new accounts and lots of interest in our collection.”
Elsewhere, returning brands were also reporting a confident season, with Michael Meredith of Vanilla commenting: “We had a terrific Sunday and Monday, and were really busy on both days. This is our fifth season at Moda and over the years we have found that a lot of buyers make their decisions here and we’re developing a loyal following. ”
In swimwear too, brands experienced a positive response with Andy Wrench of Moontide saying: “It’s definitely worth the brand being here for autumn. We’ve noticed a big uplift in autumn sales for summer-wear in recent years. A lot of retailers are realising that there’s an all-year-round demand.”
Speaking of the market in general and the growing confidence among retailers, several companies noted a stronger Irish presence this season with Peter Cronin, of L F Intimates stating: “We had a steady Christmas, but we’ve noticed increases in quite a few places– especially in Ireland. All our Irish customers were saying that green shoots were starting to appear.”
He added: “Overall, the show was positive. People were willing to put down orders and make a commitment and we were really busy every day, right up until the bell rang we still had people on the stand, and were still writing business.”
Building on the launch of the Big Live Lingerie Debate this season saw a diverse range of topics discussed, with Jane Garner, one of the founding partners in dedicated men's underwear website Deadgoodundies.com, introduced a new angle to the debate this season talking about underpants. She encouraged lingerie retailers to offer men's boxer shorts and perhaps even briefs as an add-on sale for their female customers, which can turn into a direct sale to men visiting a shop.
"Some 70% of sales of underwear for men are still handled by women in bricks and mortar stores, but online the picture is very different - Deadgoodundies' customers are more than 90% male, even with peaks in women buying pre-Christmas and for Valentine's Day," she said, adding that men appreciate the privacy and much wider selection offered online.
Also playing an increasing role within the tradeshow’s offer, the seminar programme featured a discussion with Dr Pixie McKenna of the Channel 4 show Embarrassing Bodies, as she took to the stage alongside Freya Active to discuss the science behind their latest sports bra collection. Lisa McKinnery and Dana McMahon buyers at McElhinney’s Department Store in Ireland were among the audience for the presentation and said: “We’d seen a lot of reviews of the bra and have been to see it at the stand too but it is great to hear the science behind it as well as it gives another talking point on the shop floor.”
They added of their show experience: “We come to Moda twice a year as it is so convenient having everything under one roof.”
Meanwhile, Sian Lloyd, director of independent lingerie boutique Awens in Camarthen commented on the new look catwalks which brought visitors even closer to the hottest trends from across the show with ground level runways: “It's really nice to see the catwalk show to get an overview of everything, and of course it's so much better seeing the individual companies' models which we miss out on if the rep just comes to the shop.
“We had a very successful show - a very productive and enjoyable couple of days, we are so glad we came up as we picked up a new company that we weren't expecting - Amoena mastectomywear - and got lots of autumn orders done from our other companies.”
Both summarising the season and looking forward, Penny Robinson, event director for the show said: “It has been encouraging to hear reports that good business has been written onsite, it is still a tough market so signs of growing confidence from within the sector are always heartening.
“There will be some changes to the look and feel of the show going forward. We are focussing on making the show even more accessible for buyers with key product zones and more intimate business seminars and support at the core of the enhancements we will be making.”
The next edition of Moda Lingerie & Swimwear will showcase designs for spring/summer 15 and will take place at the NEC, Birmingham from 10-12 August 2014.
Moda Lingerie & Swimwear