NEW YORK — Shopping on Manhattan’s Upper East Side just got juicier.
Juicy Couture is opening its first uptown location today at 860 Madison Avenue in a 2,000-square-foot, two-level space.
The launch introduces the overall design concept that will carry through all Juicy Couture openings in the near future. There are dark painted walls and bright pink fixtures that are backdrops for merchandise and kitschy props placed throughout the store.
Co-founders Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor created the design elements for the newest location — as they will for others — to scream the message: “Madison Avenue meets Alice in Wonderland.” There is vintage furniture, mini teacups with charms inside them and even a larger-than-life birdcage in the front window displaying a white lace gown from the recent Couture Couture collection.
The lower level features a shoe salon and accessories area, where footwear and handbags are prominently displayed on wall shelves. Props are found throughout the store to show off the signature Juicy sense of humor, such as the pink man-in-armor statue and the Juicy pop art wall of fame, near the winding staircase.
“Pam and Gela’s influence is stronger than ever in this store,” said Philip Johnson, Juicy Couture’s visual director. “We are really starting to infuse their taste level into the design of the stores, and we will begin to update the existing Juicy stores accordingly.”
There are jars full of candy on shelves and even a painted pink clothing steamer peeking out of a utility closet. With luxury neighbors like Chloé, Prada and Gucci, Skaist-Levy and Nash-Taylor said Juicy would prominently display its higher-end collection on the main level.
“We think all our neighbors will be fantastic,” Skaist-Levy said. “We love Chloé and the closeness to Hermès, our French Godfather, our Grand Pere….And we get to walk by Fred Leighton and be dazzled on our way to the store.”
And customers seem to be paying attention. Several shoppers walking on Madison Avenue knocked on the doors, hoping to get the first look inside the store on Thursday as designers worked double-time to clear boxes and dress mannequins. “Those women are like magicians,” said one onlooker.
“It’s one of the most glamorous streets in the world,” said Nash-Taylor, who is enamored of the store’s decor. “[I love] the portrait gallery, the gilded birdcage where Couture Couture is housed and all the antique touches that display the crown jewels.”
Soon, the company plans to add cosmetics and home products to the Juicy lifestyle that already includes watches, shoes, swimwear, fragrance, baby clothes, pet apparel and a slew of other accessories. The next Juicy Couture store will open on Oct. 19 at 12 Newbury Street in Boston.
The Madison Avenue store is the 12th Juicy Couture unit and the company’s second in Manhattan. The first store opened here in June and the next will open downtown in January at 368 Bleecker Street. That location, 3,400 square feet, will be the company’s New York flagship, housing the full array for women, men, children, pets and home. By the end of 2006, there will be 19 Juicy Couture stores worldwide; 20 more are planned for 2007.
Just last month, the company signed an agreement with the Lane Crawford Joyce Group for exclusive distribution rights to the Juicy Couture brand in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. This is a major step to growth throughout Asia, and Juicy will add 24 freestanding locations to the company’s 2,400-square-foot flagship in Tokyo that opened in March.
Next year, stores will open in Milan, Hong Kong, Chicago, Dallas, Malibu, Calif., and Palm Beach, Fla. Juicy Couture will open on Prince Street in SoHo and on 57th Street in 2007, giving it five stores in Manhattan.
Juicy Couture has been on a fast-growth track for the past few years and is considered a real gem to parent Liz Claiborne Inc. Juicy, which started in 1997 with the fashionable velour tracksuit, is on its way to becoming a true $1 billion megabrand.
“It’s just shy of halfway there,” said Trudy Sullivan, president of Liz Claiborne.