(Filed Under wholesale Lingerie News). Starline recently launched three new collections, including the latest, “Fantasy Sports,” in March, is working on a bridal lingerie group for a September debut, and has added key employees, including a new VP of sales.

Also, in a move that Victoria’s Secret might envy, Starline has re-introduced its print catalogs for both its Starline and Party King costume collections. The firm had gone digital-only with both catalogs in 2016, but realized the value of print during the year.

(In a similar move last spring, Victoria’s Secret, no connection to Starline, killed off its famous print catalog, relying instead on the internet for its direct to consumer sales. In the last quarter of fiscal 2016 those direct sales were down $41 million against the same quarter in 2015. Victoria’s Secret had dropped the catalog, according to several reports, to save $150 million a year — or $37.5 million a quarter. And while Victoria’s Secret has strenuously avoided blaming the absence of its print catalog, its overall sales have been declining: down 10% in January, 16% in February and 13% in March).

John Wiltgen, Starline’s vice president of marketing, described his new Fantasy Sports collection as “a fresh take on the hottest trends in lingerie fashion: activewear and athleisure-inspired lingerie and sports-themed bedroom costumes." The group is composed of 34 styles ranging in wholesale price from $12 to $16. According to a company release, the line features “leading-edge style, high-quality construction, and exceptional fit” and includes “bold style lines, splashes of color, and the use of various types of mesh and elastics.”

In the fall of 2016 Starline also launched an activewear line, which Wiltgen described as the “first few styles of an entire new line in development,” as well as a new hosiery collection, which he described as an “essentials line” with “excellent price points and packaging.”

The company’s new vice president of sales, Wendy McConnell, spent 25 years in the wedding industry, most recently as vice president of wholesale operations at Al’s Formalwear which focuses on tuxedo rentals. She was at the Starline booth at the recent Altitude Intimates show in April.

Another hire was lead designer Jerry Matthews, who joined the company last November. With six years of experience “in fashion design and trend research,” Matthews is “responsible for creative direction of all of Starline’s new costume, lingerie and activewear collections,” said Wiltgen.

Vanessa Tyson-Hernandez was hired last year as technical designer/production manager. She has “over 16 years of experience in the fast fashion industry,” having “worked with Bebe, Forever 21 and most recently Fabletics where she was the technical design manager, working in the performance active wear division.” — NM

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Published 04-24-2017 by Nick Monjo