BETSEY JOHNSON - AMERICAN FASHION - GUIDES TO DESIGNER FASHION

WRITTEN BY ZOE DE LA PLANA EDITED BY MICHELANGELO LIA NARRATED BY PAUL G ROBERTS Her name might conjure up flashes of hot pink and sickly sweet dresses, but Betsey Johnson is more than meets the eye. Betsey Johnson’s influence on the fashion world is immeasurable, having set the trends of the 60s all the way to the 2000s. While designers would traditionally take a bow at the end of the show, Betsey Johnson would cartwheel down the runway and end in the splits – a move that defined her challenging of the status quo. Born in 1942 in small-town Connecticut, Johnson grew up with an avid passion for drawing, dance and gymnastics. She was a cheerleader in high school, and loved the costume aspect of these activities. Having been surrounded by sewing, she learnt how to sew herself, and eventually pursued these interests in college. Her career was launched by sheer luck - in 1964, she won a competition to be the college student guest editor of renowned women’s magazine, Mademoiselle, a position previously held by the likes of Sylvia Plath and Joan Didion. Her time at Mademoiselle showed the team that she was a force to be reckoned with, so much so that her bubbly personality landed Johnson a job at the magazine’s art department, where she drew illustrations, handled layouts and took photographs. At work, she quickly became known for her sweaters, hand-crocheted by Betsey herself, which caught the eye of her colleagues. She began to take orders for her colleagues and sold the swe