Curve New York 2026

Event type: Intimate apparel, lingerie, swimwear, sleepwear, activewear, fashion sourcing, retail buying, and brand discovery trade event

Likely location: New York City, New York, USA, typically at a major trade-show venue such as the Javits Center or another Manhattan event space, depending on the official 2026 floor plan and organizer announcement

Estimated attendance: Moderate-to-strong B2B footfall, usually concentrated in buyers, brand teams, merchandisers, retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and fashion-industry professionals rather than general consumers

Curve New York is a highly targeted fashion trade event focused on the intimate apparel ecosystem. It is not a broad consumer fair; it is a business-driven marketplace where brands, buyers, merchandisers, and sourcing professionals connect around lingerie, shapewear, swimwear, loungewear, activewear, and related categories. For attendee-list research and buyer targeting, this event is especially valuable because the audience is naturally aligned with retail purchasing, brand partnerships, product sourcing, wholesale distribution, and category management.

1️⃣ Who attends: Buyers / attendees

This event attracts a mix of true buyers and high-value decision-makers across the fashion and retail supply chain. The most important attendee groups are retail buyers, wholesale buyers, category managers, merchandising leads, brand founders, product development teams, sourcing professionals, distributors, agents, and fashion marketplace partners. In addition, the show usually draws specialty store owners, e-commerce merchants, department-store buyers, private-label teams, and regional retail chain representatives.

Because the show is centered on intimate apparel and adjacent categories, the ideal attendees are not general fashion shoppers. The valuable audience is made up of people who influence assortment planning, vendor selection, pricing, product launch timing, and placement across stores and digital channels. This makes the event particularly strong for B2B lead generation and list-building when the goal is to identify companies that are actively purchasing, sourcing, or evaluating new lines.

Typical buyer-side attendees include:

• Retail buyers for lingerie, swimwear, activewear, and loungewear
• Merchandise managers and category planners
• Wholesale account managers and sales directors
• Brand founders and owners
• Product development and design leaders
• Sourcing managers and supply chain decision-makers
• E-commerce and marketplace buying teams
• Private-label and house-brand teams
• Store owners and boutique operators
• Distributors and sales representatives

2️⃣ Where the show is happening + attendee geographic origin

Curve New York is centered in New York City, which is one of the strongest fashion and retail hubs in the world. Even when the event venue changes, the city itself adds significant buyer quality because New York attracts domestic and international fashion decision-makers, showroom teams, media, and sourcing professionals.

Attendee geographic origin: The audience is usually a blend of local New York metro professionals, national U.S. buyers, and international fashion visitors. Because the event is part of the broader New York fashion calendar, it tends to draw participants from the Northeast, major U.S. retail markets, and global sourcing regions.

Best geographic targeting:

• Local: New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania
• National: Major retail and fashion markets such as California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, and Massachusetts
• Global: Buyers and brands from Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with U.S. retail or sourcing interests

For attendee-list research, this geographic diversity matters because the event can support both domestic sales outreach and international wholesale prospecting. If your client sells into U.S. retail, NYC buyers are especially valuable because many of them influence national assortment decisions. If your client sells overseas sourcing, the event can also surface global brand and manufacturing relationships.

3️⃣ Audience reach: Local / National / Global

Audience reach type: National with strong global relevance

Curve New York is not just a local New York event. While the venue is in New York, the audience reach is broader because the fashion and intimate-apparel industry is inherently national and international. Buyers from across the U.S. travel to New York to discover new brands, compare collections, assess pricing, and meet vendors. At the same time, the event has global appeal due to the city’s status as a fashion capital and sourcing center.

In practical terms, this means the event is ideal for companies seeking:

• U.S. retail buyers
• National wholesale accounts
• International fashion business relationships
• Cross-border sourcing and supply-chain contacts
• High-intent niche fashion buyers

4️⃣ Sample buyer company names + websites

Below are sample buyer accounts that would be strong targets for this event. These are selected for relevance to lingerie, intimate apparel, swimwear, fashion retail, marketplace buying, and adjacent consumer categories. The list is designed for buyer-focused outreach rather than exhibitor-only prospecting.

Top 5 sample accounts to send first: Victoria’s Secret & Co., Macy’s, Nordstrom, Target, and Bloomingdale’s. These five give you a strong mix of specialty intimate-apparel buying, premium department-store purchasing, mass-market scale, and category credibility.

5️⃣ Job profiles, industries & event type

For this event, the best-performing outreach list should focus on retail purchasing, merchandising, brand partnerships, and sourcing. The strongest job titles are those with responsibility for buying decisions, category expansion, vendor management, and fashion assortment planning.

Best job profiles to target:

• Buyer, Intimates
• Senior Buyer, Apparel
• Category Manager
• Merchandising Director
• Product Development Manager
• Sourcing Manager
• Wholesale Director
• Business Development Manager
• Retail Partnerships Manager
• Fashion Merchant
• E-commerce Merchandiser
• Private Label Manager
• Brand Partnerships Lead
• Commercial Director
• Supply Chain Manager, Apparel

Best industry filters to use:

• Apparel & Fashion
• Retail
• Luxury Goods & Jewelry
• Wholesale
• Consumer Goods
• Import & Export
• Textiles
• Marketing & Advertising
• Design
• E-commerce / Internet
• Commercial Real Estate for showroom-related contacts

Event type angle: B2B fashion trade show, buyer-seller meeting platform, wholesale discovery event, intimate apparel sourcing and retail buying showcase

For data extraction purposes, the strongest company signals usually come from brands and retailers that actively buy product lines, run seasonal assortment cycles, or maintain wholesale and marketplace programs. This means the event is especially attractive for companies that sell into fashion retail, product sourcing, packaging, brand activation, logistics, manufacturing, textiles, and retail technology.

6️⃣ Estimated attendance / expected footfall

While the exact 2026 attendance may vary, Curve New York is typically considered a targeted trade event rather than a mass-exhibition fair. The footfall is generally lower than mega consumer shows, but the buyer quality is significantly higher. That is a good thing for list value, because the event is built around decision-makers rather than crowds.

Estimated attendance profile:

• Retail and wholesale buyers
• Brand teams and sales executives
• Fashion and product development professionals
• Sourcing and manufacturing contacts
• Distributors and agents
• Press, stylists, and industry media

Expected footfall: Typically in the low-thousands to mid-thousands, depending on the year, venue, and co-located show activity. The value is less about volume and more about quality density. A smaller show can outperform a larger one if the attendees are actual buyers.

For attendee-list sales, this event is strongest when you are looking for named prospects with buying power rather than generic event traffic. If your client wants a curated business list, this show can be very effective.

7️⃣ Key focus areas & buyer engagement

Curve New York’s key focus areas center on product discovery, market positioning, seasonal collections, and category expansion. Buyers attend to see what is new, compare brands, evaluate price architecture, and understand which collections can fit their stores or digital channels.

Key focus areas:

• Intimate apparel and lingerie
• Swimwear and resort wear
• Shapewear and bodywear
• Sleepwear and loungewear
• Activewear and lifestyle apparel
• Private label sourcing
• Wholesale expansion and distribution
• Brand discovery and line reviews
• Trend forecasting and assortment planning
• Sustainability, fit, fabric innovation, and sizing

Buyer engagement angles that work best:

• Seasonal product launches
• Exclusive collections or limited drops
• Retail-ready product lines
• Private-label opportunities
• Wholesale terms and margin fit
• Fit, comfort, fabric, and performance claims
• Visual merchandising and packaging appeal
• Fast replenishment and supply reliability

For outreach, the message should not sound like a generic event-list pitch. Instead, frame it around retail buyers, merchandise planners, sourcing teams, wholesale buyers, and brand partnership leads. That makes the list more commercially useful and much more aligned with what fashion clients actually want.

8️⃣ Client-product fit note

To recommend the best buyers precisely, I need your client website before finalizing the list. The right target changes depending on what your client sells.

If your client sells lingerie, shapewear, swimwear, or apparel: target retail buyers, department stores, specialty boutiques, and fashion marketplaces.

If your client sells packaging, labels, tags, or garment accessories: target brand founders, product development teams, sourcing managers, and private-label buyers.

If your client sells retail software, e-commerce tools, or marketing services: target omnichannel merchants, e-commerce managers, and digital commerce leads.

If your client sells manufacturing, textiles, or supply-chain services: target sourcing directors, operations leads, and wholesale brand teams.

Once you share the client website, I can refine this into a much sharper buyer list with the best-fit companies, titles, and industry filters for outreach.

9️⃣ Final recommendation

Curve New York is a strong event for attendee-list research if your goal is high-quality B2B contacts in the fashion, intimate apparel, retail buying, and wholesale sourcing space. It is especially useful when you want buyers with direct purchasing responsibility rather than broad event traffic.

Best buyer segments to collect:

• Retail buyers and senior merchants
• Category managers and merchandisers
• Wholesale and distribution decision-makers
• Brand founders and commercial directors
• Sourcing and product development leads
• E-commerce and marketplace buying teams

Quality rating for B2B attendee-list sales: 8.5/10

This is a focused, commercially relevant fashion event with strong buyer intent. It is especially valuable for brands and service providers in apparel, retail, sourcing, product development, packaging, and fashion commerce. The main limitation is that it is highly niche, so success depends on tight audience matching and the correct client-product fit.

Best next step: Share your client website, and I will review it and give you the best buyers based on the client requirement, including priority accounts, job titles, and the most relevant industry filters.