Industry experts agree that the swimwear market is booming. The Curve Paris trade fair, which will showcase the Spring/Summer 2024 swimwear and resort collections, and the Interfilière, which will showcase the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 fabrics and accessories, as well as the Spring/Summer closeouts the best proof of that.
In July 2023, 37 percent of exhibitors at Curve and the Interfilière trade fair were in swimwear, beachwear and resortwear, while lingerie accounted for 36 percent and accessories for 27 percent. In January, the share of swimwear was still 10 percent. “With 15,000 visitors, the January edition, 90 percent dedicated to lingerie, was the benchmark for the international sector,” confirms the fair’s director, Matthieu Pinet. There is no other fair apart from Curve New York that also belongs to WSN Développement.”
“We don’t see ourselves challenged in the lingerie sector, unlike swimwear, for which there are other trade fairs around the world: Miami Swim Week, Cabana Miami Beach and Mare di Moda. This sector is very competitive because in practice it is not very difficult to design swimwear,” says the expert. There used to be special actors for each division. Today he is convinced that the share of swimwear in the offer of the big lingerie brands will increase.
The market for swimwear, beachwear and resort wear is gaining momentum
According to analysts from ResearchandMarkets.com, the international swimwear market will grow from US$22.6 billion in 2022 to US$28.84 billion in 2027. This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 6.38 percent. Enough to spark enthusiasm from the main lingerie retailers, who currently only spend two to eight percent of their business on swimwear, according to information from trade shows.
There are many reasons for this boom. On the one hand, wellness is trendy. According to the Outdoor Participation Report, around 27.58 million people in the US adopted swimming as a fitness routine in 2018, which in turn boosted sales of athletic swimwear. The Chinese market is driven by the huge population enthusiastic about water sports, which is considered to be the best form of physical activity in China.
On the other hand, after two years of lockdown, the whole world is happy to travel. Travel agencies are hitting record sales, planes are packed and the swimwear market is taking off with them. According to data from the service provider Kantar, French brands are growing at double-digit rates, with sales of 232 million euros for women’s items sold worldwide in 2022 (+13.1 percent compared to 2021) and 83.5 million euros for men’s items ( +25.4 percent compared to 2021). These percentages should be put into perspective when you consider that travel was still limited in 2021.
Last but not least, “resort wear”, often referred to as “Bikini Apéritivo”, that is beachwear suitable for beach parties in the style of Miami, Ibiza, Portofino Riviera or the jet set Saint-Tropez, wins a place in the sun. This style of clothing, popularized by luxury brands and their resort collections, meets the expectations of a clientele who doesn’t always want to go swimming, but also has another advantage: the prices are higher and therefore the profit margins are larger, similar to loungewear or activewear.
A fair with an expanded offer that appeals to the buyers of concept stores
Higher profit margins are enough to attract new distributors, especially as lingerie specialty stores in France have been suffering for a number of years. The evolution of consumers and the questioning of gender invites to reconsider the traditional patterns and to imagine new businesses.
The organizers rely on the same credo as with Who’s Next, for which they are also responsible: the offer must be expanded to make it attractive for shops with a conceptual environment for lingerie or swimwear. As a result, related accessory brands are exhibiting shoes, jewelry, and hats, among other things, to offer these new perspectives.
“30 percent of the new visitors come from the Who’s Next databases,” says the director. “These developments meant that we had to redesign the July event and give it a new dynamic. Brands were a little upset that the January issue was pushed back to July 2022. I went to them and told them we needed each other. If this fair disappeared, the entire industry would be threatened.”
The result is an increase in visitor registrations by 35 percent and already on the first half day a number of visitors that corresponds to that of the first day of the trade fair in June 2022. That means an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 visitors for 135 exhibitors at Curve and exhibitors at Interfilière.
Spring/Summer Trends 2024: The main thing is that it shines
Pamela Anderson can ditch her red one-piece suit and women can swap out their timeless black swimsuits – bikinis account for more than two-thirds of sales – as trends for Summer 2024 are trending towards colorful prints, animal or floral prints and glittery pieces gold or silver lurex. “We’ve always used bold prints and sequins, but this season we’re going with the flow,” says Annalisa Cristiani at the busy Lior booth at Interfilière. “We used to make lingerie, but there are fewer and fewer prints in this area.” With a width of 145 centimeters and prices of around 15 to 16 euros per meter, depending on the quantity, Lior primarily appeals to luxury brands and the Russian market, for which the company offers exclusive designs.
Goldbergh was one of the leading labels at the fair. The brand presented a sculptural gold one-piece swimsuit. Melissa Odabash is also a popular label with a range of resort wear and accessories including flip flops, slippers, hats and clutches.
And then there’s Lenny Niemeyer. Founded 30 years ago by the wife of the late architect Oscar Niemeyer’s nephew, Lenny Niemeyer is the leading brand in Brazil. The company was even commissioned to design the national team jerseys for the 2024 Olympics. With prices around 300 euros, this brand is particularly interesting for the southern European market, including Greece, Turkey, Italy and Spain.
Also worth mentioning is the Chantelle Group, which invests in inclusive fashion with an original concept presented at Curve and wants to continue the success of the best-selling SoftStrrecht line of underwear. Chantelle Pulp is a polyester swimwear line that adapts to all body shapes and is available in four colors, orange, green, blue and black.
Swimwear made from synthetic materials raises the question of sustainable beachwear
Can beachwear with prints on stretch polyamide, embossed and laminated polyester adapt to the changing demand for ecological materials? This question is highly topical. Hopefully the technology will be able to cater to brands at the show, like Peulh Fulani, which are already using recycled marine-grade polyester in their swimwear.
Although unfortunately only 10 percent of all fibers are made of these famous plastics that are collected from the sea or beaches, this initiative deserves a mention.
This translated and edited article originally appeared on FashionUnited.fr.