Juicy Couture is opening its first store on Manhattan ‘s Upper East Side . The new location on swanky Madison Avenue demonstrates how far the Southern Californian brand has come. Starting off as a purveyor of pastel coloured velour and terrycloth tracksuits, the company has morphed into a lifestyle brand with its own couture line, Couture Couture. The store encompasses 2,000 square foot over two stories, with a “Madison Avenue meets Alice in Wonderland” feel to it, according to co-founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor. The design concept will provide a blueprint for other Juicy Couture boutiques.
“Pam and Gela ‘s influence is stronger than ever in this store,” said Philip Johnson, Juicy Couture’s visual director. “We are really starting to infuse their taste level into the design of the stores, and we will begin to update the existing Juicy stores accordingly.” By the end of this year, the company will have 19 stores worldwide and 20 more are planned for 2007. These will include locations in Milan , Hong Kong , Chicago , Malibu and Palm Beach .
The rapidly growing business will soon add cosmetics and home products to its offering of watches, shoes, swimwear, fragrance, baby and pet apparel and, of course, ready-to-wear, casual wear and couture.