PARIS — The intimate-apparel industry’s recent summer gathering in Paris underwent a makeover as WSN, which took over the event last 12 months, continued to work to seek out the proper model, shifting to an expanded resort offer and away from lingerie with the launch of Curve Paris, replacing the Mode City banner, alongside fabric event Interfilière.

“It’s a relaunch, the start of something recent,” said Frédéric Maus, chief executive officer of WSN. “The three brands — the Salon International de la Lingerie, Interfilière and Curve Paris — all now have a transparent identity and positioning. That has allowed us to speak in confidence to recent categories.”

To the surprise of many attendees entering Curve Paris at Porte de Versailles, which ran from July 2 to 4, the corsetry majors were all but absent; amongst them, only Groupe Chantelle and Huit8, each launching recent swim collections, maintained a presence.

“We took a chance on coming, but we desired to support them,” said Groupe Chantelle chief creative and brand officer Renaud Cambuzat. “The challenge is to create a proposal that’s relevant for the sector.”

In total at Curve Paris, there have been 138 exhibitors, greater than half of which were newcomers. Alongside swimwear, resortwear, accessories and sweetness all had a stronger presence.

“Customers are mixing their product categories and buying from a life-style aesthetic standpoint as an alternative of compartmentalizing each element,” observed Kimmay Caldwell, undergarment educator and founding father of HurrayKimmay. “Previously, brands have dipped a toe into this but I believe we’ll see increasingly more from corporations that cross over,” she told WWD.

In total, the events attracted 5,150 visitors, which was stable compared with a 12 months ago. This was seen as particularly positive given a lot of cancellations on account of the riots, triggered by the police killing of an adolescent, that erupted around Paris just days before the events opened.

“It’s essential to do not forget that the June 2022 show was the Salon International de la Lingerie that had been postponed from January,” WSN also highlighted. “The last Unique by Mode City took place in July 2019.”

While the show’s timing — designed to work in tandem with fabric events Première Vision and Texworld, the latter opening July 3 in a neighboring hall at Porte de Versailles and with a shared visitor badge — was an excellent fit for suppliers at Interfilière, it was less convenient for those shopping at Curve for finished products, lots of whom had already been on the town the previous weekend for resortwear show Splash.

“I used to be here last weekend for Splash, it’s a pity they weren’t the identical weekend,” said Liv Möller, senior lingerie and hosiery buyer for KaDeWe in Germany.

“It must have been at the identical time,” said Liz Brighton, owner of Odette Lingerie in Buckhinghamshire, U.K. “All the large brands are missing, it’s not great for the buyers. It has turn into very fragmented and time consuming.”

“A trade show is perpetually evolving to answer changes and the expectations of buyers and exhibitors,” said WSN director of lingerie shows Matthieu Pinet. “Curve Paris still needs to seek out its ideal format, nevertheless it stays an indispensable moment on the international lingerie and beach/resortwear calendar. We’ll take the time to exchange with all market stakeholders and seriously think concerning the dates for the subsequent edition.”

With greater than half of the exhibitors newcomers, there was a definite deal with emerging labels and never just inside the Exposed space, previously centered largely on creative labels.

“It looks as if so many brands emerged throughout the pandemic years and at the moment are on the point of wholesale,” Caldwell observed. “Typically the Exposed area was reserved for the smaller, more fashion-forward corporations and this time several of the brands included were actually more well-known or established players in comparison with several of the newer corporations throughout the ground.”

Amongst young brands, Revivre, based in Scotland, was showing its reversible swimwear, with classic, easy-to-wear shapes — including underwired designs — created to last and comprised of Econyl fabric, which is created using ocean waste. The brand has also initiated a takeback service where consumers get a reduction on a recent piece after they send one back for recycling.

France-based Chamade is tapping into the DIY trend, with knit-your-own swimsuit kits that use a patented extensible yarn. For advanced knitters, certain designs feature specific stitches that replace the necessity for underwiring or boning.

Martial, meanwhile, is a young French brand offering genderless swimwear pieces created by 2019 Hyères accessories prize finalist Martial Charasse.

There was also Swimétis, which offers visually striking velvet swimwear pieces made with a special fabric that dries just as fast as an everyday elastane swimsuit.

Amongst brands from outside the beachwear space, accessories label Domestique was showcasing a line of leather goods designed to seem like paper shopping bags — complete with a leather “receipt” listing each step within the sourcing process — and quirky baskets and vegetable crates also crafted from leather.

Lastelier, launched in 2016 by Bottega Veneta alum Bérangère de Lassée, offers high-end summer accessories with timeless designs and modern, often patented features. Her straw hats, for instance, are guaranteed to supply SPF protection because of a special weave, while bags feature clever side straps for carrying a hat when not needed.

While lingerie was not a core focus, there have been some innovations from younger brands showing, like Sensée Paris, a seamless line comprised of organic linen that was amongst brands exhibiting because of WSN’s partnership with crowdfunding platform Ulule. Sensée founder Léa Magnani was inspired to create the road when her grandmother got cancer and she or he desired to create a pesticide-free solution that was healthy for the breasts, she said.

Love & Swans, based between Turkey and the U.S., showcased its quirky embroidered lingerie with comic strip-like motifs, with each set inspired by a story or character.

Also within the Ulule section was Flowher, a Paris-based brand offering colourful menstrual swimwear, and Mouiller le Maillot, a young label offering swimming shorts with patented design integrating a completely waterproof inner pocket, made with Seaqual fabric.

Among the many more established brands, Chantelle Pulp, inspired by the brand’s bestselling Soft Stretch underwear, is a one-size-fits-all swimwear concept, with a seven-piece collection in muted, dip-dyed colours.

Huit8 debuted a set filled with colourful vintage-inspired prints because the brand continued its restaging under recent ownership. Swiss hosiery specialist Fogal, meanwhile, debuted its first swim collection, constructing on its recent launch of athleisure products.  

High-end lingerie designer Paloma Casile explored the terrain between corsetry and ready-to-wear, introducing her first casualwear pieces.

Upstairs at fabric and components event Interfilière, there have been 162 exhibitors, up 12 percent compared with last 12 months’s edition. “Interfilière had the upper hand and the feedback I got was that it was an especially exciting show for fabrics and sourcing,” Caldwell said.

There was a robust deal with craftsmanship, with an immersive space showcasing machinery and manufacturing processes as French mills seek to focus on their expertise and profit from renewed traction for localized manufacturing because the pandemic.

Lacemaker Sophie Hallette, for instance, is investing in automated lace production alongside its high-end offer for the primary time because the ’80s, as brands seek to reshore production. “Producing in France is an actual added value,” Sophie Hallette president Romain Lescroart told WWD.

“We’re lucky to be French,” said embroidery specialist Maison Lévêque manager Frédéric Bodenheimer during a roundtable on French manufacturing. “We’ve got customers which are still prepared to pay the premium for products which are manufactured in France.”

The wave of emerging brands that made up much of the exhibitor base at Curve Paris, meanwhile, is pushing suppliers to innovate. “Young brands are providing a stimulus to think outside the box, because they’re avenues that established labels could be slower to go down,” observed circular knitting specialist Bugis CEO Bruno Nahan.

The corporate, based near Troyes, is seeking to re-introduce natural fibers like linen to its catalog consistent with growing demand, notably within the innerwear space. “It’s a giant opportunity,” he said.