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Not many designers can get away with cartwheeling down the runway. Not many designers continue to rock the fashion industry well into their late 60s, but there's only one Betsey Johnson. The Grand Dame of New York fashion has put the rock 'n' roll into style for more than 45 years. Much like the designer, her eponymous label celebrates the very best of color, pattern, whimsy and femininity with lashings of humor.
Take a Walk on the Wild Side
"Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up and brighten," says Johnson. As such, her signature aesthetic is funky and unabashed, featuring bold stripes, leopard print or bohemian patterns -- alongside embellishment and naughty slogans. You can find a Betsey Johnson label in everything from netted prom dresses and spotty jewelry to, more recently, lingerie, shoes and bags. So, if you're conservative, you need to spice up your closet with this infectious look.
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Born in Connecticut in 1942, Johnson's love of dance and costume led to a hot fashion career. While heading up design at fashionable New York boutiques Paraphernalia in the 1960s and later Alley Cat, Johnson rubbed shoulders with the coolest celebrities of the day; ever heard of Andy Warhol, David Bowie ... Edie Sedgwick? Johnson's short-lived marriage to Velvet Underground's John Cale confirmed her cool status, as did rocking motherhood in style after the birth of her daughter Lula in 1975.
Let's Get to Business
In 1978, Johnson formed Betsey Johnson Label alongside business partner Chantal Bacon in New York. More than 30 years later, there are just under 100 frothy candy pink checkered stores worldwide, as well as presence in major department stores and online. The company's shows provide a "much needed shot of energy midway through NYFW (New York Fashion Week)," said Style.com. If you got a chance to rummage through celebrity closets, you'd find many coated in Betsey Johnson sparkle, including Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon and Kate Moss.
Making and Breaking the Rules
Betsey Johnson is the crazy cool grandma you always wished for -- fearless, accomplished and unstoppable. With signature blond hair and red lips, she has blazed her own path through the industry. Amongst many awards for her fashion contributions, she was inducted into the Fashion Walk of Fame in 2002. Having survived breast cancer, she has tirelessly campaigned for awareness and funding for the disease, becoming honorary chairperson for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. This leopard-print bundle of energy is simply unstoppable.
