Juicy Calling London

A pink Juicy tracksuit was acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum as part of their permanent fashion collection. This is official proof that Juicy Couture, in its relatively short lifespan has become iconic in its own right. Love it or hate it, Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy have built up an empire that encompasses everything from handbags to fragrance to doggie accessories. Their empire now includes a London flagship store in Mayfair’s Bruton Street, which officially opened last week with guests like the Le Bon family, Lily Cole and Leigh Lezark. Nash-Taylor, a self confessed Anglophile, was keen to preserve the heritage of the Grade 1 listed building and worked with the London Heritage Society to restore the ornate moldings, fireplaces and staircases but Juicy Couture’s DNA has been injected into features like graffitied Royal portraits.

Not wanting to rest on their laurels, Taylor and Levy have also launched their newest collection “Bird by Juicy Couture”, a fashion forward line that’s for the “girl who lives in the city, who is a little edgier.” Earlier this year, we caught up with Nash-Taylor to quiz her about  her Anglophilia and the Juicy journey.  

Dazed Digital: What prompted you to open the store in London?
Gela Nash-Taylor: We've had a showroom in the old Hartnell building and we needed to have a London flagship because we've been selling in England for a long time so it's been a long time coming.

DD: What was the thought process behind the design and the layout of the store?
Gela Nash-Taylor: This store was Dick Turpin's showroom who is a very famous antique dealer and I think it’s a Grade I listed building so we really just restored the building, as all the fireplaces and the ceilings are so gorgeous. A lot of the things in it are things representative of the mix between what I really love and what Pam really loves. We have a house in England and I'm obsessed with most things English like taxidermy and all of that.

DD: So you love English design?
Gela Nash-Taylor: I do English probably better than most English people.

DD: What can we expect from the main line?
Gela Nash-Taylor: That's what we are focusing on right now, evolving the main fashion collection and coming up with amazing outerwear and sweaters. Lots of options for cargo pants. That's the challenge, to constantly  evolve the core and whats the next amazing fabric, like for instance a soft plush pile fabric.

DD: Moving on to the Bird collection, why did you decide to push this much more fashion forward collection?
Gela Nash-Taylor: You know what, it's kinda crazy. We did it because we wanted to, we were just in the mood for it. We had just opening our store on 5th Avenue and we wanted something edgier. Initially it was done as an installation. The first collection was designed on six mannequins and it was just a boy/girl capsule collection and it was just the Thanksgiving collection, we used all of the leftovers we could find and it just took off, it sold out and everyone said we just had to do it. The response to it has been incredible.

DD: What were the inspirations behind it?
Gela Nash-Taylor: It's a different girl to the Juicy girl. It’s a girl who lives in the city, and is a little edgier. It’s a different mentality, it’s more tailored, it’s more vintage and it’s more contemporary fashion… much more fashion forward. It’s a sort of departure from Juicy, but we do have the best cashmere tracksuits in Bird, that's a similar thread. An edgy, luxe cashmere tracksuit.

DD: What has been the greatest Juicy moment?
Gela Nash-Taylor: Once in Rodeo in Beverly Hills, which has a diagonal crosswalk. I was standing there on my phone and I looked up and on every corner somebody was wearing a tracksuit and they were all walking across the street...it was a eureka moment. 

Juicy Couture open now on 26 Bruton Street, London, W1