Betsey Johnson Spring 2006 Fashion Show. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images (Getty Images)
Something tells me we’re stuck in a time warp. You can buy velvet tracksuits with “JUICY” written in crystals on the butt at Urban Outfitters Providers. The female adventure film Josie and the Pussycats is enjoying a feminist redemption arc. TikTok users are discovering the joy that is “haute couture” from Costco. But nothing heralds the return of kitsch more certainly than the rebirth of the Betsey Johnson brand, just in time for the eclectic designer’s 80th birthday.
Tuesday night fashion editorsinfluencers and celebrities like Euphoria’s Chloe Cherry gathered in what appeared to be a trailer park theme soiree to celebrate the iconic supplier of “all things girly and punk”. Wearing her trademark goth chandelier corset dress and matching above-the-elbow opera gloves, Johnson was flanked by a giant pink fridge, a stack of old televisions, drag queens and garden flamingos. If you can imagine a mix of Elvira, Barbie and Piper Perabo in Coyote Ugly complete with a sequined coin purse as an accessory, then you master the aesthetic of the Queen of Kitsch.
For me, this rebirth is personal. I wore a black and pink Betsey Johnson tulle gown to my senior prom, complete with a sweetheart neckline and a giant pink bow (she was screaming, “I’M A GIRL, BITE ME”). I had spotted it at a Betsey store in my local mall, and felt for the first time that a designer understood me: a glamazon punk rock wannabe with a dash of hyper-femme. I felt inexplicably great. Just over a year later, in 2012, the brand declared bankruptit laid off hundreds of employees and closed all of its stores.
Now, a decade later, Betsey Johnson and all her neon extensions are relevant again. Teen idol Olivia Rodrigo has been spotted on vintage betsey repeatedly. Bimboism and Barbiecore both contain echoes, if not carbon copies, of Johnson’s signature silhouette: bra straps, push-up bras on, bright pink corsets above it all. worn slips and the dresses are on all resale sites like Depop and ThredUp.
But a certain cultural moment has cleared the way for his return. Betsey Johnson, a designer who somersaulted in the splits at the end of every catwalk, has always stood for ironic excess, over-the-top ostentation, and a flashy, eccentric take on femininity. It is telling, then, that young women have returned to it in the run-up to a recession and in a post-Roe world, in which femininity is not just a style or aesthetic to be mocked, but a statement of political power. As Veronique Hyland write in Elle about the return of bubblegum pink and plunging necklines, “It seems that many of us are taking refuge in the armor of a stereotype as a form of protection: Do you want a closed hyper-femininity? We’ll make you a better one.
I’m welcoming Betsey 80th birthday collection—and his return to the spirit of the times— with open arms. In her honor, let’s take a look at some of his most iconic looks and moments.
Source: jezebel.com