We thought we had buried our Juicy Couture Tracksuits shortly after our awkward middle school phase. But, it seems that they've been resurrected in 2016, forcing you to remember those middle school days you've fought so hard to forget. After 2007, you wouldn't be caught dead in that démodé outfit. Until now.
Juicy Couture was started by two friends in 1996 but didn't take off until 2001 with the first velour tracksuit. Once Madonna was photographed out and about in her tracksuit that the two friends sent her, the trend emerged.
Between 2001 and 2007, every A-lister you could name was strutting around in a Juicy tracksuit. Brittany Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Paris Hilton were livin' la vida Juicy and at the forefront of the brand.
What wasn't to love about the Juicy tracksuit? It was basically a chic excuse for wearing pajamas all day long.
Like all fashion trends, this noughties staple couldn't last forever. The reign of the zip-hoodies with a "J" dangling from the zipper and sweats with a rhinestoned "Juicy" branded on the butt was finally over by 2007. By October 2010, most major retailers had dropped the label. For the rest of us, it was just a symbol of embarrassing middle school photos we never wanted to relive.
The once iconic fashion staple is now making a comeback. Vetements, a trendy fashion label, unveiled a cherry-red Juicy Couture jumpsuit at their catwalk shows.
In addition, Bloomingdale's recently announced a launch of Juicy tracksuits in seven colors. Bloomie's vice chairman Frank Doroff said, "Juicy was the originator of athleisure (work out gear, that spilled over into daywear), a trend that resonates with our customers and has a strong presence in our Fall 2016 assortment."
Brooke Jaffe, OVP and fashion director of ready-to-wear at Bloomingdales said, "We love the classic tracksuit and felt it was important to retain the original head-to-toe look." The retailer gave the tracksuits a face-lift with key adjustments to the color palette and silhouette, adding a banded hem to the trousers. Jaffe thinks that there's no better time for this than now. "Athleisure and casual, 'off-duty' dressing is an essential part of every woman's wardrobe. Velvet is one of fall 016's most sought-after fabrications, and velour is velvet's casual antidote."
Harrods has also jumped on the Juicy bandwagon and has started selling a small collection of bling-less tracksuits.
I fully support this once passé trend becoming cool again.
Who will this reemerging trend sink its claws into this time around? Middle schoolers, A-listers or college students trying to "dress up" for class? I have no doubt that these quintessential noughties get-ups will make their way onto the Christmas lists of everyone from age 13-30 this year. I'm looking forward to choosing Juicy and repping a Juicy tracksuit until it becomes obsolete again in a few years. But I'm not quite ready to pair them with Uggs again.
