California Apparel News

Salon Allure emphasizes the new

For its July 19–22 run, the Salon Allure trade show hoped to emphasize the new.

The luxe boutique show for resort, swim and accessories unveiled a new layout, which spread its vendors around the seventh and eighth floors of the W Hotel in Miami’s South Beach district. The show producers also wanted retailers to try new brands and looks.

“They are hesitant to buy new lines,” Rick Fatzinger, managing partner of Salon Allure, said of retailers, but they were reconsidering old practices at his show. “They are buying new lines.”

The boutique show featured 40 brands in 36 suites commanding ocean views. The brands were housed in suites to cultivate privacy, which was intended to increase opportunities to write orders, Fatzinger said. Some brands were new to the show, such as Honey Bee Swim, headquartered in Dallas; eco-brand Koru Swimwear; and fashion swim brand Venice Rani. Others, such as Issa de’ mar and Stone Cold Fox, made a return to the show. Shapewear label Spanx debuted a new line of swimwear at the show. Salon Allure vendors Mikoh, Indah and Caitlyn Kelly Designer Swim produced runway shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim.

Retailers including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Nasty Gal and specialty shops such as Hot Wax in Wilmington, N.C., browsed the show.

Billi Doyle of Honey Bee Swim said that four stores left paper for her emerging brand and a magazine requested that she send samples to the periodical’s stylist. Tina Rani of Venice Rani also reported seeing high-profile retailers but added, “I didn’t see the foot traffic that I hoped for.”