A couple of seasons ago a friend of mine posted a photo from a Betsey Johnson runway show and offered up a one-word review: STOP. I get it—the clothes haven’t been memorable for about a decade, and the only items of hers I’ve wanted to purchase in recent memory have all been punk label archive reissues. That said, she was the first designer I identified with as a weirdo punk rocker in high school, and for that reason she’s kind of sacred to me. At this point, the designs are all pretty much the same from one season to the next, but who cares? A world without Betsey would be a world without glittery pink cupcake dresses, skull sweaters, neon floral peplum skirts, and cabbage rose-printed leggings.Betsey Johnson has built an empire selling girlish rebellion to the masses. Sadly, that empire is now owned by Steve Madden, but shit happens. Her fans are cult-like in their loyalty. For them, her runway show is a major social event and it’s pretty amazing how many of them have access to it. The crowd was packed with uptown teen girls whose moms have editorial connections, buyers, spray-tanned mother and daughter duos, her past and present retail employees, and groups of first year FIT students tottering around in sky-high platforms. Each and every one of them was dressed in head-to-toe Betsey. These are the girls who have been wearing her dresses since their Bat Mitzvahs and have an arsenal of pink leopard ready at all times.The mother and daughter in the center were retail customers escorted by Betsey Johnson staffers to the show. The mom informed me they had met Johnson herself and that she was very nice.These two waited around the Lincoln Center all day for the show. They were cute and a nice break from all the tans.This archival screw print is one of my all-time favorites.All I wanted for my junior prom was a silk Betsey Johnson dress with an oversized violet print—it was the 90s. My mom balked at the $160 price tag and I ended up with an $80 silver backless ABS dress instead. One of the straps broke at the end of the night and, had I not been wearing pasties, I would have had an underage nip-slip in front of most of my high school. I blamed my mom for not letting me get a Betsey.If there is anything that can melt my heart it’s an adorable tween in vintage punk label Betsey. She was there with her mom who told me this sweater was her daughter’s proudest possession.On the other end of the age spectrum was this beautiful flower. She is proof that girlhood is a state of mind that can last a lifetime. Every time I start thinking I might be "too old" to pull something off I'm just going to look at this photo.Wow. Just… wow.Inside the front row was a weird mix of industry notables and internet It-Girls. Russell Simmons was there. Coco Rocha was tweeting the event seated near Cory Kennedy and that annoying lady from The Man Repeller.Becka Diamond told me the collection was going to be inspired by her early designs for Edie Sedgwick. In return I took a picture of her butt.Diamond wasn’t far off—the theme was Betseymania, the BJ-equivalent of Beatlemania. The clothes were mod-ish, as was the styling, but I just can’t get behind pink and orange faux-fur.I expected more from the woman who married John Cale at City Hall in 1965 wearing only a velvet tunic so short it showed her crotch because they refused to let her get married in pants. But, at this point, the label is a well-oiled machine and no one but me probably cares about her old paraphernalia patterns.The music was terrifying. I can only describe it as a manic dubstep remix mash-up of nonsense with a few Beatles tracks slipped in. Particularly terrifying was Lil Mama’s "Lip Gloss" mutated into a demonic hybrid when crossbred with "Tequila." May it never traumatize my eardrums again.Johnson bopped down the runway with her daughter, Lulu—who should lay off the injects before she gets any more trannie-like—and her granddaughter. Front row note: that black shadow in the bottom left of the above photo is America’s Next Top Model judge Simon Barker’s head. It is massive and incredibly difficult to shoot around.A drill team of models closed the whole party and I hightailed it out of there to avoid the ensuing crush of pink and teal-clad JAPs.
Advertisement
Advertisement