Each time I come to New York Fashion Week I have a list in my head of all the shows I want to see that make my heart go pitter-pat, and none get it racing more than Betsey Johnson.
My favorite show is always Betsey Johnson, but then isn’t it everyone’s? The press pit at a Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is always a stressful and cramped place, but it seems like the Betsey Johnson show takes stress and cramping to a whole new level. All the photographers and videographers want to be there and every member of your team is there taking up precious space. Including ours. We’re contracted to provide one video tape of the Betsey Johnson show to our client, somehow that took four of us to pull off… and three of us were photographers…
When the bewitching hour comes, all the press who are lined up get poised to pounce the moment security gives us the sign. We all rush through the door of the venue like someone is about to steal our last dollar, trying hard not to trample the persons to our left and right – OK, maybe not trying “hard” but trying to behave well enough that security doesn’t kick us out, while racing to get the 12 inches of space we need to place our body for the next hour until the guests are seated and the show begins. Which by the way lasts less than 10 minutes, then we race out to do it all over again for the next show.
I was thrilled with the position I got for the Betsey Johnson show – a perfect shot from the beginning of the runway all the way to the end. All I had to do was indure about 45 minutes of intense pain while kneeling on my knees with arms wrapped through the tripods on either side of me so I could hold my camera with a 300mm lens steady.
Betsey Johnson just seems to bring out the most enthusiasm from the press and the crowd because the lady puts on a good show. There are always the hippest celebs in attendance, this season’s show had Kelly Osbourne, a regular attendee, singer Nicki Minaj, and after the show we got interviews with the kind of celebs that get our heart-racing, stylist for “Carrie Bradshaw” Patricia Fields, and former IMG VP and the person who started NY Fashion Week, Fern Mallis.
Maybe it’s my red hair, or my inner rebel that likes to rear it’s head from time to time, but I just love the crazy outfits, the obnoxious colors, and the models who actually “strut” the runway and then give all of us in the press pit their sauciest smile, and juiciest pose. Yes, I’m too old to wear Betsey Johnson, and no, I’ve never owned one of her designs, but I am a closet website surfer that likes to take a peek now and again at what I “might” be wearing if I were a little younger and a lot braver. Yes, I know, Betsey Johnson has clothes for the “mature” woman, but those really aren’t the ones I’m interested in.
This year’s collection was a bit, uhhhmmm, produced for a mature audience, like an NC 17 audience. And I found myself embarrassed for the parents who had brought their young daughters to see their fashion idol. Of course, this being NYC, the parents may not have been embarrassed at all. So while the video needed some careful editing by Cheryl, I’ve managed to share selective photos to give you the flavor of the collection and identify some pieces you might wear without your knickers showing.
Highlights of the runway show included her daughter LuLu who was the first model to walk the runway. Betsey said that she wanted to prove that women should be proud of their voluptuous body, a theme carried over from her show a year ago when she featured several young plus-size models. I also think she gave a nod to older women who would like to wear the fun, vivacious designs, as she had another model on the catwalk that was clearly closer to LuLu’s age than the other models.
Betsey also included an homage to her younger self. The 68 year-old designer does cartwheels at the end of every show, but apparently still felt the need to remind us that she was once a hip, downtown girl by emblazoning several tunics with screen prints of her in her younger, stranger days.
After the show we ran into two of New York City’s fashion icons, Fern Mallis, former IMG VP and creator of New York Fashion Week and Patricia Fields, designer and stylist for Sex and the City, Ugly Betty, and the Devil Wears Prada. Fern and Patricia shared with us what they love about Betsey Johnson, who’s been in the New York fashion scene as long as they have.
Betsey Johnson Spring / Summer 2012 Collection – PG13 Version
Melissa Shea is co-founder and a fashion reporter for the Fashionably Connected Network of local fashion web sites. Melissa is the Creative Director and manages social media marketing for Fashionably Connected.
