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Naja buy lingerie from China founder Catalina Girald has a new business partner.

Gina Rodriguez, who stars on the CW series Jane sexy lingerie China the Virgin, is now an equity holder in Girald"s lingerie start-up Naja pronounced na-ya. Rodriguez is another big get for Girald whose investors include Mindy Grossman, chief executive officer of HSN; Susan Lyne, former ceo of Martha Stewart Living and Gilt Groupe, and angel investor Joanne Wilson.

This story first appeared in the October 6, 2015 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.

She"s this sexy lingerie China up-and-coming celeb with such a big voice, said Girald, who met Rodriguez through a Procter Gamble project that highlighted emerging Latinas. We decided that we wanted to work together to empower women and empower Latinas because that"s something that"s on Gina"s radar.

Girald, a former lawyer, launched Moxsie, an online apparel start-up that was purchased by Fab.com, before she started Naja in 2013. Single mothers or women who are heads of households produce Naja"s brightly printed lingerie in a factory in Colombia. Naja offers its employees child education benefits, which includes free supplies, books, shoes, undergarments and school meals. Naja also operates the Underwear for Hope vxyvx020 program that trains and employs at-risk women.

I grew up in Colombia and the States, so I was exposed to poverty, Girald said. It"s hard for single women with children to make ends meet and we wanted to help them.

Over the past two years Girald has worked on revamping the intimate apparel supply chain and in 2014 she purchased a factory in Colombia where Naja"s lingerie is now produced. Girald works with only five different recycled fabrics that are purchased and digitally printed in Los Angeles.

Because we are digitally printing we can make one piece, we can make 350 pieces or we can make 1,000 pieces, therefore our minimums are reduced substantially, she said. The ability to make one product at the same cost of making 10,000 products opens up the door for personalization and things that have never really been done before.

Girald said lead times for lingerie are typically 12 to 18 months while it takes Naja"s three to four months to produce its collections. According to Girald, this process leaves her without excess inventory and with 80 percent gross margins.

To date, Girald has raised $1.7 million and is actively looking to raise another round of money.

The assortment, which is sold exclusively on Naja"s e-commerce site, consists of various themed collections, a line of basics and swimwear. Bras, which range from 32A to 36DD, retail around $50; panties retail around $25, and swimwear made from recycled plastic bottles retails at $95. The inside of each piece features a print, which according to Girald signifies beauty is on the inside, and uplifting quotes such as Don"t be like the rest of them, darling.

The idea is when you wear lingerie it"s about you and about yourself and if you want to share yourself with someone else that"s wonderful, she said. But we want to move away from this idea that you wear lingerie to please someone else.

On Tuesday night, Alison Chemla and Morgan Lane gathered Oktoberfest Costume their circuit of It girl friends to celebrate the lingerie collaboration between their two lines, Alison Lou and Morgan Lane.

Drake Burnette, Caroline Vreeland and Wholesale Babydoll Lingerie Harley Viera Newton gathered at newly opened vegan spot By Chloe in the West Village to checkout the line, which includes a set of days-of-the-week underwear, a button-down sleep shirt and an embroidered sleep mask.

Morgan vxyvx020 and I kind of grew up together, we both grew up in the city, Chemla said. We"ve known each other since high school, Lane chirped.

As both girls were Wholesale Babydoll Lingerie launching their respective lines, they admired each other from afar until finally they set upa project over e-mails. I"ve always wanted kind of a fun, days of the week set, because they"re so cute, Chemla said.

Meanwhile, Lane, accompanied by mother Jill Stuart, said, We both have a love for this whimsical approach to fashion. Lingerie and jewelry are both timeless, love-yourself pieces.

The collaboration launched last week on both brands" sites, as well at places like Fivestory and Shopbop. After the last of the vegan chocolate cupcakes were polished off, guests left with the line"s silky sleep mask in tow, which will perhaps come in handy once the late nights of New York Fashion Week get going.

I don"t know how long this will last but I never want it to go away, Chemla said of the collaboration. I run around in this underwear in my office, and the girls that work with me are like, What are you doing?"

These Sexy Clubwear are tenuous times for lingerie firms.

Early fall and back-to-school wholesale halloween costumes have been mostly completed after the drawn-out February market, but major stores and smaller specialty operations are holding out on finishing their holiday buys, generally waiting until the May market to address those programs.

The procrastination stems swimwear manufacturer China from the sputtering U.S. economy, which grew just 0.6 percent in fourth-quarter gross domestic product, and a credit crisis caused by the subprime mortgage implosion. The delay in holiday ordering also is spurred by concern over consumer spending. The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 64.5 in March a five-year low from 76.4 in February.

As a result, vendors wholesale swimwear and merchants are exercising caution as they try to figure out what will make consumers open up their wallets and decipher winning formulas for the second half of the year. Most of the talk in the market involves sticking to basics and replenishable product. Other experts believe fashion will be the stimulus needed to turn on the consumer.

Lee Chaden, chairman of Hanesbrands vxyvx020 Inc., said in a recent interview: Make sure you have a commitment to basics, whether it"s socks, T-shirts or underwear, and stick with market leaders. When retail gets sluggish, the retail reaction is to reduce inventories. What I"ve seen during these inventory-conservation periods is some customers end up out of stock on core items.

Despite a sour economic climate, fashion items wholesale halloween costumes continue to generate the demand for innovation and newness, especially if the items offer special-looking fabrics, textures, treatments, updated silhouettes and fashion colors and prints, as well as styling and silhouettes that address a lifestyle image.

Marcia Leeds, chief executive officer of Richard Leeds swimwear manufacturer China International, said the company overcame the dark and bleak landscape in the market with the introduction of two new ideas: updated, softly tailored pajamas with feminine embellishments by French Jenny and a new brand called Comfort Food.

We renamed our holiday collections Season wholesale swimwear 4 Ever because holiday orders keep dragging and I think buyers are very nervous, Leeds said. Our new brand, Comfort Food, will be in stores in fall. Its been well received because the whole idea of the line is it"s lightweight and comfortable like I can"t wait to go home and put on these pj"s after a stressful day." Retailers liked the idea of pj"s, rompers and two-piece sets in fun colors in cropped silhouettes with novelty buttons and cozy fabrics like brushed cotton knit interlock.

This story first appeared in the March 31, 2008 issue of WWD. Subscribe Today.

Sizing up the demand for basics, Leeds said, If you have something unique and very special-looking, the retailer will want to try to drive it as a key item and derive some sales off of it. Yes, they"re looking for replenishment basics, but they"re also looking for the next big story. It"s like, Impress me, bring me the big new item and I"ll buy it."

Josie Natori, ceo of Natori Co., said, Modern mixtures of different animal prints were the classic hallmarks of the Natori collection.

A top item included an animal-print polyester slipgown and robe called Savannah. She noted that beautiful water-color effects and burnout textures were a hit with Josie Natori sleepwear. A key two-piece item was a hand-painted blue, green and gold animal print burnout pattern of silk and rayon.

In the Josie sleepwear collection, Natori singled out novelty fashion items that go over anything. Two best-booking items were an embroidered Moulin Rouge chemise of polyester and spandex jersey and lace-trimmed camis of polyester. A hit in Josie daywear was a Tr s Jolie cami and short set of circular netting nylon and spandex in pink with contrasting black lace. Popular items in the Cruz line featured great drape that is not clingy, and embroidery that has a signature Natori look. An animal-print chemise of polyester interlock called Zanzibar was a top item, she said.

Susan DeMusis, executive vice president and general merchandising manager at the Carole Hochman Design Group, said: Basics are ongoing and we can replenish as business needs fluctuate. But our strongest response was to special items like our Leopard Devore baby doll by Betsey Johnson and our Flamenco Lace bustier by OnGossamer. Top sellers also include gift-giving cotton flannel knit pajamas in fun leopard prints. Buyers appeared willing to commit to fashion up-front to ensure ad styles and special assortments.

Donna Nadeau, president of the Donna Nadeau collection at The Komar Co., said retailers are looking for a brand, a category or an item they can promote.

Retailers are really interested in eco-friendly products, Nadeau said. We launched The Green Side of Life" as an exclusive in February at Neiman Marcus and it will be expanded to other major stores for fall. Upscale features include organic cotton knits mixed with a recycled polyester, which doesn"t sound luxurious, but it really is. This follows the successful launch in 2005 of The Comfortable Side of Life, eco-essentials such as pure bamboo and textured organic cotton robes that I call my signature classics.