Juicy Couture No More. Say Hello to Skaist Taylor

Ginger Harris

If I say Juicy Couture, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Most likely a pink velour tracksuit with a logo strewn across the rear. A lazy Sunday outfit that, overnight, infiltrated daily dressing in a way that forever soured our taste for tracksuits. And, oh, what incarnations that tracksuit saw. First spotted on fashion plates and celebs, then moving to the mom crowd, eventually covering grannies and finally dressing the Jersey Shore set.

Much like Juicy's ever-changing demographic, the designers behind it, Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor, evolved. After selling Juicy Couture several years ago, Pam and Gela, as they call themselves, decided to jump back into the apparel biz with a new brand line, Skaist Taylor. Why?

"What else was I going to do? I tried cooking. That did not work out. We're two best friends who created a line together. Two best friends who love playing with clothes and looking at jewelry," Taylor confessed.

I guess, you could say it's in their genes. Or jeans. Or both.

Ginger Harris

This time around Pam and Gela are aiming to capture the gypset (a gypsy, jet-set hybrid) crowd, as this latest offering mixes boho with a Studio 54 disco vibe for gypsies on constant caravan. On Thursday, Miami journalists, bloggers and fashionistas got to glimpse that collection at an intimate luncheon when the dynamic duo landed in Coral Gables at Neiman Marcus at the Village of Merrick Park. While lame shorts, fur jackets, gauzy dresses and fabulous, ankle-high python booties served as eye candy, the two made it known that this time around they are doing exactly what they want to do.

New Times: When Juicy Couture came out, you got a big intro to the Miami market through local celeb J.Lo. This new collection has a lot of fur. Taking that into consideration, how do you plan to appeal to the Miami market this time around?
Skaist: I think the Miami girl is obsessed with great clothes. Our line is for the girl who loves clothes.

Taylor: Fur is an accessory, it's like a ring or a bracelet or a bag. You don't walk out in just fur. Well, maybe some of you do, but most times there's a dress or something underneath of it. I think you can see from the collection there's a lot of strappy silk, lightweight gold lame and chiffon that's lightweight--all great for here. Fur is the accessory. It's the icing on top. It's a tiny bit of the collection.