Will Betsey Johnson ever grow up?
I hope not. I really, really do. And something tells me that the sixty-something grandma isn’t going to disappoint. She just celebrated 30 years in fashion and she’s still fascinated with pink, glitter and proms.
She came out for her curtain call on Tuesday wearing a bedazzled Peter Pan hat and a flouncy, sparkling green dress that would have put a disco ball to shame. She lost the hat when she did her trademark victory cartwheel on the runway, but quickly retrieved it and went to put it on the head of one of her grandbabies.
Betsey isn’t as much a trend setter as she is an icon. Her fashions forever appeal to the youth that is constantly getting further removed from her … in theory. To be honest, I don’t think I was ever as young as Betsey Johnson is right now. Some call her ridiculous, but I consider her miraculous. She also hosts the only major fashion show in which the models are actually allowed to look as if they are having fun on the runway. Imagine that. They strut and preen and smile (often devilishly). They blow kisses and play with their twirly skirts.
There is no doubt that there’s something to celebrate whenever there’s a Betsey Johnson production.
She served her front row cupcakes inscribed in icing with her initials, but most of the uber-thin, uber-hip front row set didn’t eat them. Instead the cupcakes got poached by the rest of us in the peanut gallery seats. I hesitated a second too long, or I would have scooped one up myself.
This year Betsey’s theme was appropriately, Peter Pan. The first scene consisted of grown up lounge wear rendered in cocktail party silhouettes, representing the kids before their journey. The following scenes explored sexy lingerie inspired gowns and Pirate-influenced frocks. The collection was pure fantasy and frivolity and the show ended with a mini-dance party of models holding balloons and skipping around playfully. Even if the rest of us who’ve never known Never Never Land can’t fully appreciate the clothes, we can’t help but appreciate Betsy Johnson and her Peter Pan quest.


A wayward soul from Las Vegas, Nevada, who now calls St. Louis home and believes that fashion is relative and capricious, but style is always in favor.