How and why wear plush costumes in 2016
In the last decade, Juicy Couture velor suits were at the height of fashion, they were ridiculed, and in 2016 they returned to the wardrobe rooms of celebrities and became part of the Vetements collection at the Paris Fashion Week. As part of the #trackisback campaign, we are working with the brand on how bright tracksuits are associated with new feminism.
Juicy Couture occupies a unique place in the history of fashion - few have managed to feel this way and in some way shape the spirit of the times. It is no coincidence that the brand's tracksuit is in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum - this is the same sign of null as fake tan or tame chihuahuas.
The foundation of the brand in 1997 came at the boom of celebrity culture, when people learned from the tabloids everything about the everyday life of stars. Britney Spears and Paris Hilton wearing sunglasses and velor suits, re-invented glamor, making it more alive than the retouched photos from the red tracks. Now the tabloids gave way to Instagram, and the cult of self taught women and girls to be proud of their appearance and not to be ashamed of self-love.
In the industry, where men are still leading, the brand’s story has a feminist meaning. Two friends, Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skeist-Levy, founded the brand with $ 200 in their pockets and in six years made it a multi-million company.
Without Juicy Couture, Alexander Wang and Philip Lim would not have been possible; Velor tracksuits were a sign of prosperity, but remained at the same time affordable.
This is partly why the Juicy velor costumes inspired new feminist artists: Arvida Bistrom and Petra Collins. The latter even removed the cover of Wonderland magazine, on which the icon of modern pop culture Kim Kardashian is in a velor Juicy Couture suit in soft pink tones.
For Bistrom, tabooing is an important element of the visual language, and the love of bright pink tracksuits seems to many to be something as embarrassing as menstruation or unshaven legs or armpits. This shame is a consequence of the division into “smart or beautiful” imposed on women (not least by themselves).
The pink velor suit was the border, on both sides of which women despised each other; many copies were broken in discussions about internal mis-genesis, before the costumes of Juicy Couture got rid of the “girlish” connotations.
Now it’s hard to imagine that women once didn’t wear sneakers with dresses, however Juicy Couture costumes appeared long before the fashion for athleisure and gym skin, and still remain relevant.
Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy turned dull basic clothing into an object of desire for girls of all ages. In the convenience of costumes there is a large proportion of their charm, and millions around the world went to Juicy Couture stores for a California lifestyle.
The word Juicy laid out with rhinestones slightly lower back taught us to be more honest and ironic about our own sexuality. Peeping thongs and tattoos on the back became one of the ways to treat femininity and regain control over one's own attractiveness - and this is equally relevant in 2001 and in 2016.
Material prepared with the support of juicy couture
