„Velour California”
Velour mania in California started with Juicy Couture tracksuits and If you ask me how I see the early 2000’s, I’ll say without a doubt that it’s JUICY COUTURE.
Juicy Couture was started by two friends in 1997. Gela Nash & Pamela Skaist-Levy, both residing in Pacoima, California, decided to create their own fashion label, Travis Jeans, selling maternity pants. In 1996 they changed the name to Juicy Couture.
The iconic low-slung sweatpants and matching slim-fit hoodie arrived at a time when logomania and conspicuous consumption ruled supreme – age of excess.
“Everybody wanted it, and everybody was wearing it.”
The brand’s popularity came in 2003, when Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie began filming their reality TV show “The Simple Life.” Almost daily, the duo wore matching Juicy Couture sets in every color of the rainbow and it was amazing. As “The Simple Life” became a smash hit, Juicy’s wares started popping up on Hilton’s fellow tabloid fixtures like Lindsay Lohan, Madonna, Britney Spears, Eva Longoria, Beyoncé, and Kim Kardashian. Juicy’s started to be literally everywhere and on everybody.
Jennifer Lopez, who was wearing the outfit in her music video with Ja Rule has taken juicy suits to the next level of popularity. The video “I’m real” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD2D6phvRRk ) have 5.2 million views on YouTube and the fact that she appears there in a Juicy set says what an influence they had on fashion. “I shocked everyone when I decided to wear it! It seemed fitting since the song is called ‘I’m Real,’ so I decided to be ME!!,” -Jennifer Lopez in her Instagram.
At the time, it was like carrying an Hermès Birkin— only less expensive.
Crazy trend not going to stay on the plot forever, especially if it has been everywhere and on everyone and is exactly what Juicy was. By the end of the 2010’s, the brand was starting to lose popularity. BUT the fact that one tracksuit was able to achieve such a crazy result is amazing. Everyone wanted to be in Juicy, it was the style.
The early 2000’s is an era of chic that is now popular again, and there is charm and style in it. So, to say now that Juicy is making a comeback is not a total loss of taste, but rather a manifestation of it. The legendary costumes we all know are slowly making a comeback. Comfort and sexuality are back in fashion, which is exactly what Juicy Couture is.