Curve Intimate Apparel Trade Show Cancels September Event in New York

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Curve, the intimates apparel and swimwear trade show, has canceled its September show in New York.

“Every day is a new day in this new world and we didn’t feel that we would be secure enough to organize a show in New York this September, so we made the difficult decision to cancel,” Raphael Camp, chief executive officer of Eurovet Americas, the company that hosts the trade show, told WWD. “This was a very difficult decision to make, however the safety and health of our community comes first.”

In lieu of the in-person event, Curve will host a virtual event — Curve Connect — Sept. 13 to 25, showcasing an array of lingerie and swimwear brands, with daily webinars, panel discussions and the opportunity for retailers and brands to participate in one-on-one virtual meetings.

The Curve team has partnered with Grip, an event matchmaking software company, to enable the live remote meetings. The software, which uses artificial intelligence to make suggestions on potential retailer-brand matches, also allows retailers to digitally browse new products and brands and request individual meetings with brands on the video platform.

Camp said it is the same technology that the sourcing trade show Texworld is using for its virtual trade shows.

“For people who are continuing business and finding new ways to engage with their customers, this is a good thing,” he added.

In addition, the extended 12-day event will give retailers extra time to search for products amid their already hectic schedules, Camp said.

Curve is just one of the many trade shows to cancel its in-person events Stateside this fall. Earlier this month, Coterie — which included Fame, Moda, Sole Commerce and the previously rescheduled Project and Children’s Club — canceled its September show in New York. Designers & Agents, the women’s contemporary show, which was also scheduled for September in New York, has also canceled. So did the Capsule, Cabana and Liberty Fairs September trade shows in New York.

Meanwhile, Camp said Curve is still producing two in-person trade shows in Paris this September — Riviera X Who’s Next and Interfiliere Paris, from Sept. 4 to 7 and Sept. 6 to 7, respectively — through Eurovet Body Fashion Network. He added that the U.S.-European travel ban makes it difficult to plan the next in-person Curve New York show, but that it will likely be at the end of February 2021.

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