Betsey Johnson's Birthday Bash And Retrospective

Posted 10 hours ago by Mary H.K. Choi in Designers, Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week

Looks from Betsey Johnson's Spring 2013 New York Fashion Week show and retrospective.
Photo: Getty Images

Sure, it was crimped hair and cat's eyes galore backstage at Betsey Johnson but there were also heaps of photographers and cameramen scrabbling for a shot of the designer who was celebrating her 70th birthday. Betsey commemorated this birthday with a 90-outfit career retrospective during New York's fashion week even amidst financial woes that resulted in the company filing for bankruptcy earlier this year.

There was nary a somber tone during the night at Espace on Manhattan's westside, that featured a musical performance from longtime Betsey bestie Cyndi Lauper and the miniature bottles of bubbly were complemented by the effervescence of a nostalgia-tinged soundtrack from our DJ for the evening—Sky Ferreira.

Looks from Betsey Johnson's Spring 2013 New York Fashion Week show and retrospective.
Photo: Getty Images

The looks were all of Betsey's greatest hits. From hyper-colored intarsia playsuits to the hiked-up frou-frou of her voluminous party frocks and of course—stripes and patterns aplenty—it was a trip down memory lane of a career that spanned several decades with Easter Eggs included form Betsey's original line, Alley Cat.

Betsey Johnson does her signature split.
Photo: Getty Images

Dresses, sarongs and negligees were trotted out with scads of accessories ranging from baby pigs to tiaras and the finale, as always, was a cartwheel into a split from the sprightly designer. When we caught up with Betsey amidst the hubbub and the merrymaking, we had the opportunity to talk about her new reality show with daughter Lulu (who, by the way, popped out of a massive cake at one point), how much inspiration she culls from Turner Classic Movies and how, season-after-season, she's able to resonate with such a broad and diverse swath of fans. Happy Birthday, Betsey J!