The shower curtain—the anchor of today’s bath accessories business—is fittingly the focus of the category’s introductions during market week here this month.
“Textiles are keeping the numbers going,” said Bob Weiss, director of sales and marketing at Creative Bath. “The small accessories are asleep.”
Linda Kulla, vice president of the Lenox bath division at Bardwil Linens, called the shower curtain business “phenomenal,” at least at the $29.99 price point.
Despite their higher profile in the bathroom, shower curtains have become more universal in design, so that they complement any type of decor and coordinate with all kinds of accessories.
“We’re finding there’s a lot more openings in stand-alone shower curtains,” said Rick Lipton, director of the bath coordinates division at Baltic Linen Co. “It doesn’t have to be pattern-specific.”
Carl Legreca, president of Croscill Home, believes shower curtains and accessories go hand in hand and “the best is when they complement each other and coordinate.”
Creative Bath is focusing on “solids with style” and building on a reversible curtain program that launched last year and has been well received, Weiss said. Croscill Home is offering toned down, nearly neutral metallics such as champagne and taupe with slight iridescence, said Melissa Wellington, designer for the bath department.
Bardwil Linens has found success with a solid-color, tone-on-tone microfiber curtain, according to Kulla. But Bardwil’s most popular item is its Butterfly Meadow curtain, part of a licensed Lenox collection. The multicolored curtain coordinates easily with any bathroom color scheme. At this show, it is launching Accoutrements, a collection from designer Anna Griffin for Lenox. The pattern is predominantly roses, but also features many colors.
Other trends in curtains and bath accessories include green and orange colorways, natural elements and textural items. Stripes and dots, tropical looks and water themes are perennially popular, but are constantly being tweaked and modified.
Shells show up a lot, but they have become more beautifully sculpted and natural-looking than in the past, Wellington said. Tropical patterns have been toned down, some with a retro feel. And many of the patterns derived from nature, such as bamboo, woven grasses, wood grains and animal skins, have been used in more sophisticated ways.