New York Fashion Week - Day Two (Betsey Johnson)

- Betsey Johnson -

Day 2 of New York Fashion Week and Betsey Johnson celebrates her 50th anniversary in the fashion industry. Question is where to start with this jaw dropping collection...

Betsey herself is known for her extravagant runway shows, capturing all the vital ingredients of a successful collection. Betsey began her career in fashion whilst working at the clothing boutique Paraphernalia in New York. Paraphernalia being one of the many inspirations for Johnson as founder Paul Young focused clothing on being fun, not wanting fashion to be taken too seriously - that is exactly what Johnson has captured during her 50 years in fashion.

The collection itself was full of over the top glamour and luminous colour, with Betsey's inspiration for this collection being things important to her dance and of course her experience in this industry. Clothes in this collection represented many decades such as pinstriped playsuits representing the 90's grunge era, sweet little shift dresses from the 60's and obviously what Betsey is best known for, fluffy, marshmallow like tulle-esque skirts. Also important to all of Johnson's collections the fabrics and intricate embellishment used for her garments - sequins, fishnet and printed floral skirts. What more would one expect from Betsey Johnson? 

Touching upon the voluminous skirts again, they really are more icon than thought - as a dancer herself Johnson's figure was smaller on top and larger on the bottom. This has allowed Johnson to cater for the 'real' women in fashion considering all different body types, saying herself “I am basically about a ballerina torso and a full skirt” making this the basis for al her designs. 

I don't think I have ever seen such a good use of colour in a show in all my life!! Watching the show was almost like looking into a kaleidoscope - it was everywhere from the garments to the models makeup. Its hilarious for me to comment on colour because anyone who knows me well would know my wardrobe is 70% black and white. I wear nothing but monochrome. Colour does slowly begin to diminish towards the end of the show, where we see the appearance of the 80's punk era and grunge where we are then introduced to deeper muted shades. The overall appearance of the models as well has adapted with wilder hair and dark smokey eyes, icy metallic lips and exaggerated accessories. 

One of my favourite pieces in this collection was a white dress that looked as though it had a variety of rich neon pinks, blues and yellows launched all over the garment. However I adore the way in which texture has been made the focus of this piece. Layering fishnet, the dress and the belt used as a corset to bring in the models waist. Theres so much going on you have no idea where to begin when dissecting this piece of art. Although many would argue this outfit looks as if it has been thrown together, those think opposite. Its evident that simple details such as colour have been thought out incredibly well, yellow being the colour that draws the whole look together. There is honestly not one thing to dislike. 

Looks as if Betsey has had real fun with this collection - of course there was no way Betsey would end this incredible show without an appearance from herself. Although the models themselves had put on a show, dancing and prancing around the runway what would any Betsey Johnson be without the iconic cartwheel or splits? Models also brought out an array of 50th anniversary balloons in celebration. The last thing to admire about Betsey is the USA flag tank she wore on the runway paying attention to that days important issues besides fashion week, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. 

http://nyfw.com/betsey-johnson