NEW YORK — Juicy Couture is stepping into spring with a new pair of shoes.
The casual-chic contemporary brand is launching a footwear collection of 70 styles ranging from cowboy boots to kitten heels and ballet flats for spring through a licensing deal with New York-based shoe distributor Schwartz & Benjamin, which was signed in March. The shoes were launched at the World Shoe Association footwear trade show in Las Vegas this month.
“We love shoes and our shoes certainly run the gamut,” said Gela Taylor, co-founder and co-designer of the line along with Pamela Skaist-Levy. “Our Juicy girl wants everything, so we had to do shoes.”
The shoes — like Juicy Couture apparel, accessories, jewelry and outerwear — are flirty, feminine and infused with a California-girl aesthetic. They were designed to be worn just as easily with jeans as with a bikini.
Inspiration comes from past decades: there’s the Ann-Margret-inspired round-toe slingback from the Fifties, the Ali MacGraw and Topanga Canyon-inspired Seventies platform mule, and the decadence of the Beverly Hills Hotel, circa the mid-Eighties, is reflected in the kitten-heeled terry mules.
Retail prices range between $50 and $500. The shoes will be sold at the freestanding Juicy Couture store in Las Vegas, as well as specialty and department stores. The company declined to give a wholesale volume projection for the line.
“Shoes are part of the Juicy world,” said Skaist-Levy. “Juicy Couture is a full collection now.”