There are certain defining examples of 2000s culture — iPods, cell phones, reality TV, fast food, and pop music. This era of innovation and sickening celebrity obsession often gets overshadowed by the highly controversial fashion that was indicative of the time period. The new millenia brought forth Ugg boots, Von Dutch hats, miniature monogram Louis Vuitton bags and so much denim to the forefront of fashion. At the helm of this fashion Renaissance was the blueprint for today’s athleisure look as we know it — the Juicy Couture tracksuit.
It held its place in many movies and TV shows such from Mean Girls to Desperate Housewives to One Tree Hill. The premier status symbol of the 2000s was a matching velour tracksuit with a little J hanging from your jacket zipper. Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, JLo, Beyoncé and every effortless comfortable cool girl were notorious for wearing this universal sign of luxury that allowed you to look like you rolled out of bed while still looking like a ‘Juicy Girl.’ It was the ultimate in game recognizing game. The outfits came in a variety of (typically very vibrant) colors and styles, such as velour, terrycloth, shorts, sweatpants, etc. before the word athleisure even existed, and it was High Fashion™.
After the 2008 recession, the demand for an overpriced tracksuit died down, leaving Pam Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor, the co-founders of Juicy, to sell the brand at a fraction of the price it was worth earlier in the decade. The duo started another brand by the name of Pam & Gela in 2014 that largely draws on themes from the Juicy label but delves further into comfort and style of today. Though the Juicy brand disappeared from mainstream culture rather quickly, that iconic symbol of the 2000s had embedded itself into fashion history, so much so that a Juicy Couture tracksuit was put on display at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London a few years ago.
In 2016, we saw Rihanna accept her Shoe Of The Year award in a black Juicy velour gown with matching bedazzled opera gloves, and that was the first time we’d heard the name Juicy be thrown around in years. As of more recent developments, Juicy Couture partnered with Sofia Richie’s clothing brand, Kappa, this past September to produce a campaign that harkened back to the apex of 2000s culture, “The Simple Life,” a 2000s reality TV show starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, the unofficial ambassadors of Juicy Couture.
Three months later, Juicy Couture collaborated with Parade on a capsule underwear collection. The collection features model Ashley Graham and Lourdes Leon, Madonna’s daughter, in various soft sustainable fabrics, styles and feminine colors reminiscent of the ‘00s. The undergarments feature classic trademarks of the once beloved brand, such as crystal embellishments, graphic art accessories and the Old English font. TikTok mega star Loren Gray wore the collab in a photo on Instagram.
In addition, Juicy has recently partnered with Apparis, a brand known for their high-quality faux fur, vegan garments. Together, they’ve put together a collection of black and pink faux-fur tracksuits that take comfort in the athleisure market to the next level. Four-time olympic champion and 19-time world champion gymnast Simone Biles wore the collab for a picture on Instagram.
Juicy seems to be making very strategic collaborations to create more buzz around the brand, The world is currently in a state of comfort now more than ever, yet we have failed to identify a recognizable form of top tier sweats. Last month, we saw Rina Sawayama pose for an Instagram photo wearing a custom black Juicy sweatsuit with her name bedazzled across the back and butt. Even Timothée Chalamet was seen sporting [his own] blush pink Juicy zip-up hoodie in his most recent GQ interview. This could be nothing more than simply revisiting an old relic of an earlier decade that, for all intents and purposes, is certifiably iconic, BUT it could be the beginning of Juicy Couture’s new era, one in which the world is ruled by a uniformed army of velour tracksuits on every street corner.