Article Purse

In 1994, Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy started their own fashion label, Juicy Couture. Their vision was to create a fashion label that had an exclusive air but was affordable to the general public. Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy had met at a mutual friend’s clothing store in Los Angeles 16 years ago. Taylor was a struggling actress with a baby on the way. Skaist-Levy, a fashion school grad, was a budding hat designer.

They had very little money and could not afford to advertise. Their strategy was to send their finished designs to celebrities in the hopes that they would wear their clothes. Their first creation was maternity blue jeans: They spent $200 adding elastic to some old Levi’s and sold them at maternity clothes stores. After a photograph of actress Melanie Griffith in their jeans appeared in Glamour, sales took off.

Their approach was working. Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy continued to fore go traditional advertising, preferring to send thousands of free outfits to the famous as well as to fashion editors and stylists every year. They sent one of their velour track suits to Madonna, who liked it enough to wear it around town. The company quickly became a success.

Despite Couture’s innovative strategy, their brand distribution was so limited that Couture’s name wasn’t yet a household word. In 2003, when Juicy Couture was purchased by Liz Claiborne, the company gained the resources to boost its marketing efforts and product line. In 2004, when Juicy Couture began to open its own boutiques, the brand grew into a global force.

Despite the fact that Juicy Couture founders decided to not offer cheap clothes some pieces approach the $300 mark - Juicy Couture has become one of Claiborne’s fastest-growing divisions. Since the deal, Juicy revenues have quadrupled and are nearing $200 million. And while the number of retailers that carry the brand remains steady (1,400 worldwide); Juicy has been able to get into swimwear, shoes, sunglasses, jewelry, and handbags. Sweat suits, the item that made them famous and is now knocked off by everyone from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) to Prada, make up half of Juicy’s sales, down from 70% two years ago.

Juicy Couture’s handling of its brand was somewhat unusual, in that it didn’t rely on any one slogan, but rather a wide variety of sayings that were emblazoned on the clothes, such as : “Have a Juicy Day”, “Some Girls Have All the Juicy”, “Dude, Where’s My Couture?”, and “Choose Juicy.” The brand originally caught some flack among parent groups for slogans that some interpret as sexually suggestive. Somewhat predictably, this made the clothing line even more popular among many girls who liked the rebellious connotations.

What is interesting is that this Los Angeles Company that started out by designing velour track suits and maternity outfits had become a preeminent fashion force even in New York, competing neck and neck with other New York based brands such as Baby Phat. Moreover, Couture’s clothes are made in America which many people find appealing.

The reinvention of the sweat suit in 2001 brought many changes to what consists a track suit. The track suits were cut to show off curves, came in pastel colors and plush fabrics such as velour and terry cloth, and cost about $200. Later, they splashed the word “Juicy” across the rear end. Celebrities such as Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez wore the sweat suits everywhere.

Article by William Gold. He writes about the history of Juicy Couture. For Juicy Couture Tracksuits visit http://www.thedenimcloseouts.com they have the best prices and selection on the web.