Before the advent of athleisure, two trailblazing women defined the concept of casual luxury, and, in doing so, redefined the contemporary market as we know it. In 1996, Gela Nash-Taylor and Pam Skaist-Levy started Juicy Couture, a collection that captured their unique aesthetic and SoCal culture, and seized on a white space in the market that women of all ages grasped a hold of. Candy-colored terrycloth and velour tracksuits made their way into closets across America, Fashion Week front rows and even into the Undressed exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy became design superstars in the process.

After selling Juicy, the duo is now at the helm of the Pam & Gela brand. CFDA.com caught up with the designers at their Hollywood offices to talk about the crucial role that L.A. played in their rise, how the city helped define the business and why it continues to set them – and their brand – apart.

CFDA.com:  How did L.A. give you the platform to help launch initially?

Pam Skaist-Levy: “We didn’t even really think about the New York fashion scene; we just worked in our L.A. bubble. We were L.A. girls, obsessed with clothes and obsessed with casual luxury. Living in Los Angeles and being from Los Angeles and growing up with skate culture and all things L.A., we just thought about what we were doing and what we wanted to create. We didn’t think about the fashion world. We didn’t think beyond Los Angeles.”

Gela Nash-Taylor: “It was a time when designers didn’t come out here to do anything. They were all in New York. And as we started and fashion week grew and grew, everyone was still in New York and you kind of had to be in New York to feel like you had a presence. We never felt that way, because we started in L.A. and we didn’t know any better. We were never part of that [N.Y.] scene so it wasn’t like we missed it.”

P.S.-L.: “It was such an inspiration to our brand and it was so autobiographical, and we’re so L.A., it didn’t even occur to us to be a part of that New York scene.”

CFDA.com: Do you think it was that void in the market in L.A. that gave you the fertile ground to launch – and be successful

G.N.-T.: “Our first label was ‘Made in the Glamorous USA,’ and we wanted to be L.A. girls. L.A. is car culture central and it’s a different way of dressing. L.A. was always this casual flip-flop car culture that lent itself to track pants. Wearing a Chanel jacket with a pair of velour track pants and going to Mr. Chow…that’s L.A. People didn’t do that anywhere else. So our whole DNA was L.A.”

CFDA.com: How did you feel like it was received?

G.N.-T.: “The first thing that was a very big hit for us were our T-shirts. We did them in 26 colors and we just kept going and going and going. Because we were in L.A. and everyone else was in New York, we didn’t know what we weren’t missing. When we hit on the velour and the track suit, it was a tidal wave. It was one of those weird times in the world when the culture changed. You could go to Neiman Marcus in trainers and a track suit, and not in a skirt and pantyhose and shoes, and you were extra-cool. Ten years before, you would be perceived as somebody with curlers in her hair. It was before athleisure became a part of culture.”

CFDA.com: And in many ways you put athleisure on the map.

G.N.-T.: “When they called to put our tracksuit in the V&A Museum in London, it was hysterical. If you’ve ever seen their 20-year permanent collection, it starts with the 17^th century dresses and the bustles, and you go through the whole thing, and then, all of a sudden, there’s a vitrine with a pink Juicy tracksuit with embroidery. It was turning athletic-wear into fashion. But that was very much before athleisure, before that word was even coined. “

P.S.-L: “We called it casual luxury, because we were obsessed with casual dressing. When Vogue took us to Couture, Gela and I were nervous, thinking ‘My god, are people going to think we’ve turned everybody into slobs?’ Sally Singer did a piece on us and the old guard,and everything that the couture ladies in the front row had in common was they all wore Juicy – even the designers. Even Galliano and Valentino were all obsessed with Juicy.”

CFDA.com: Did you ever find that it was challenging from a peer perspective to establish and then maintain your credibility in the industry?

G.N.-T: “One time, I was in New York and I was in Prada standing in line with this woman behind me, and people were complaining,  ‘What are we standing in line for, spending money on this for?,’ And she said, ’Because this is the only quality product you can buy, it’s Italian.’ I said, ’Well, I beg to differ. I’ve got a company called Juicy Couture.’

We stood for quality that was made in the glamorous USA. And when 9/11 happened and we had a T-shirt with a flag on it, the world changed a little bit. All of a sudden, everyone was coming to us for our T-shirt, for clothing that was made in the USA – and we were made in L.A.. We created a wave of manufacturing in Los Angeles that was very meaningful to us, that we were bringing L.A. style to world.”

CFDA.com: Was ”Made in LA” always a pivotal part of your story?

G.N.-T.: “’Made in the Glamorous USA.’ Both of us had very similar dads, and for my dad, it was all about the U.S.A. being a manufacturing great. So in our minds, it was important to make this in America, and make this in L.A. People gave us push back in the beginning because our T-shirts were more expensive. We didn’t make in China for one girly reason, because the thought of getting on a plane and going to China was absolutely out of the question. We had to just walk next door and just see the production.”

P.S.-L.: “We also wanted to employ people in our city. Being obsessed with L.A. and California, we wanted to support our state and our city. L.A. is glamorous and sexy.”

CFDA.com: How and why did you decide to go in a different direction with Pam & Gela?

G.N.-T.: “It started because we were thinking about trying to buy Juicy back and we came up with this capsule collection. We were thinking what should Juicy look like now, how should Juicy grow up? We ended up not getting Juicy back and the market responded so strongly to Pam & Gela that we thought we’ll just do that.  It’s still casual luxury, L.A. style, what we like to wear, [and] graphic tees that we think are funny.”

CFDA.com: How do you reconnect with old Juicy customers and engage with them now?

P.S.-L.: “We tell that story by making an amazing pair of velour pants or zip hoodie. Our velour does really well, but it doesn’t look like the track suit of yesteryear.”

G.N.-T.: “You style it differently. We embellish it, we embroider it. You make it different. You don’t want it to feel like Paris Hilton. “

CFDA.com: Do you feel like people have responded in the same way to Pam & Gela as they did to Juicy?

G.N.-T.: “I don’t think so. The passion about the track suit and the J-pull was everything, and I don’t think we have that. We don’t have a viral thing like that right now and I don’t know if we will, but I know we make great stuff and people are loving the vibe of the brand. We hear that all the time. This is what we’re looking for: it’s wearable, it’s shoppable.”

P.S.-L.: “The one thing that Pam & Gela does have in common with early Juicy is that we filled a niche. With Juicy, there weren’t colored T-shirts. That casual luxury sexy thing wasn’t out there. There really isn’t a new girly brand doing what we’re doing, having that L.A. cool voice. It just doesn’t exist and that’s what the stores are responding to. It’s got that cool casual luxury vibe with a sense of humor and these are clothes you want to wear every day. It’s not a corporate brand. It’s not designed by merchandisers. We’re making what we want.”