Juicy Couture founders leave the brand

The retail rumor mill is buzzing with the news that Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy, the design duo who founded Juicy Couture, are abandoning the line, which is now owned by Claiborne.

Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy built a hugely successful company based on a single brainstorm: the ubiquitous velour hoodie and sweatpants set that became an actress go-to (on-camera and off-camera), housewife staple and teenage must-have.

Tees and accessories with glitter and gothic embroidery soon followed, and Juicy devotees jumped on them. Shoppers couldn't get enough.

But something has changed in the past few years. Maybe Juicy fans just reached sugar overload. Maybe even Orange County moms started thinking about what they could do with $200 besides spend it on sweats. Either way, the once-unassailable line started experiencing markdowns and collecting dust in tired sales corners.