Kate Foster, vice president of global marketing and communications at Juicy Couture, is no longer at the firm.
Prior to joining Juicy Couture in 2009, Foster was vice president of public relations and charitable initiatives at Ann Taylor. Before that she was associate vice president of beauty marketing and public relations at Victoria’s Secret.
Foster couldn’t be reached for comment on her plans.
According to a spokeswoman for Liz Claiborne Inc., parent of Juicy, when LeAnn Nealz was named president and chief creative officer of Juicy Couture in September, the creative functions such as advertising and visual merchandising were realigned under her. “This change, coupled with a strategic decision to align retail, trade and international marketing under the appropriate functional leader within the brand, unfortunately resulted in Kate’s position being eliminated,” she said. The spokeswoman said there is no direct replacement for Foster. Juicy has a senior vice president of creative services, Matthew Ellenberger, who is responsible for creative services, visual merchandising, public relations-communication, social media and trend-scouting.
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During Foster’s tenure at Juicy Couture, the brand went through a period of upheaval, including the departures of co-founders and co-designers Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy. In April, Juicy named Erin Fetherston guest designer and creative consultant. She worked on a small holiday capsule collection as well as the 2011 collections. Nealz’s impact is expected to be felt in the second half of the year.
In June, Foster spoke at WWD’s Social Media Forum, where she outlined Juicy’s social-media initiatives to drive consumers to its own online store and to retail. In addition to Facebook, the label has worked with Polyvore, opened a Twitter account and launched a blog, The Daily Couturist, on its Web site. “It’s about creating a universe of branded conversation across every consumer touch point,” Foster told the audience. “It’s not necessarily about chasing the newest technology or trend, but meeting her where she is, whether that’s in her natural habitat or on your turf.”