Rule Breaker Fashion Designer Betsey Johnson example essay topic

Johnson was part of the "Youth Quake" of the 1960's and the New York scene of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground. She began her foray into retail selling by the end of the decade. In 1972 Johnson won the coveted Coty Award along with fellow designer Halston. By 1978 she and a partner had started the Betsey Johnson label. Today there are more than 29 Betsey Johnson stores around the world.

In recent years Johnson also launched a successful luxury collection of clothing Featured Fashion Designers: Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson was born in Connecticut in 1942 and spent her childhood years in dance classes with dreams of becoming a professional dancer. This love of costumes and theatrics at an early age has contributed an enormous influence to the style and colors Betsey is drawn to and uses in her clothing lines. In 1964 Betsey won Mademoiselle magazine's "Guest Editor Contest" and was introduced into the world of fashion. Only one year later she became the top designer at the popular clothing boutique Paraphernalia. During the 1960's Betsey was part of the Warhol scene, an influence that is also reflected in her dramatic and innovative clothing line. In 1969 Betsey opened her first boutique, named 'Betsey Bunky Nini' to great success, and as a result was offered a job working for Alvin Dun skin in San Francisco.

In the 1970's Betsey had creative control over the Alley Cat label and in 1972 she was awarded the prestigious Coty award and became the youngest designer ever to receive the honor. In 1978 Betsey started her signature Betsey Johnson label with the first store in Soho. It was such an enormous and immediate success that there are now more than 41 stores worldwide across Europe and Asia. Today Betsey is well known among celebrities and the public for her bold colors and patterns and her cutting edge flair. Among her clients are the likes of Britney Spears, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Minnie Driver, to name a few. Betsey Johnson was born on August 10, 1942 in Wethersfield, Connecticut.

Growing up, Betsey aspired to be a Broadway dancer. Her love of dance and the costumes that her mother made for her childhood performances served as her first inspiration to design clothes. In 1964, Betsey entered the New York fashion scene by winning Mademoiselle magazine's "Guest Editor Contest". One year later, in 1965, she landed the top designer job for Paraphernalia, a clothing boutique located in Soho. From sexy silhouettes to hippie, flowing fashions, all of Betsey's designs had the whimsical detailing and fabulous fit that became her trademark.

Being a part of this new "youth quake" Betsey found herself immersed in the unforgettable 1960's New York Warhol scene, married John Cale of The Velvet Underground, and had Edie Sedgwick as her fit model. In 1968, Betsey left Paraphernalia, which closed its doors soon thereafter. In 1969, a new boutique, Betsey Bunky Nini opened on Manhattan's Upper East side. The store was born from Betsey's friendship with Bunky and Nini, which began in Paraphernalia's design room. Having a retail store in New York and a job offer from Alvin Dusk in in San Francisco made Betsey Johnson bi coastal for the last years of the 60's. A new decade offered Betsey a new career opportunity; creative control for the label Alley Cat.

If Paraphernalia defined the style of the 60's, Alley Cat set the trends for the 70's: rock and roll clothing with a hippie, ethnic flair. In 1972, Betsey won the coveted Coty Award, the youngest designer ever to receive the honor. She also became the youngest designer to create patterns for Butt erick. In 1975, Betsey's daughter Lulu was born. Motherhood and children inspired Betsey, and soon she was hired to design "Betsey Johnson's Kids".

During the freelance years that followed, Betsey's design efforts ran the gamut from dancewear at Capezio to shoes for I Miller, to menswear and maternity clothing. In 1978, Betsey formed a partnership with Chantal Bacon and started the Betsey Johnson label as it is known today. Their first retail store opened in New York's Soho. Betsey Johnson clothing is also available in major department stores including Barney's, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and Macy's. Worldwide distribution includes Canada, Europe and Japan. In 1995, Betsey launched a signature perfume, followed by a line of bath and beauty products.

These products are sold exclusively at Betsey Johnson stores nationwide. After exploring the extensive archives of her early designs, Betsey was ready for a new luxury collection. In 1996, Ultra by Betsey Johnson was born. Drawing upon her vast repertoire of silhouettes, this new signature collection features modern, sexy shapes reinterpreted in exquisite fabrics, beading, embroidery and lace. "Making clothes involves what I like... color, pattern, shape and movement... I like the everyday process...

The people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking and dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my clothes wake up and brighten and bring the wearer to life... drawing attention to her beauty and specialness... her moods and movements... her dreams and fantasies". Betsey Johnson: Rule-Breaker Fashion designer Betsey Johnson has always marched to the beat of her own drum, creating exuberant clothes for more than three decades and thriving as a single mom, entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor. You'd never guess by looking at her, but quirky, bright-haired fashion designer Johnson enjoyed a staid, serene, WASP-ish childhood in Connecticut. The middle child of three, Johnson discovered a talent for drawing and crafting as early as the third grade. She also loved dancing; she started taking classes at the tender age of four.

Johnson's Broadway-trained dance teacher was instrumental in shaping the girl's destiny, encouraging her to make her own costumes and teaching her the joy of working with a theme. After graduating in 1960, Johnson attended schools in New York. Then, in '64, she entered her fashion sketches in a Mademoiselle magazine contest and won a trip to London. After her return, Johnson took a job as an illustrator at the magazine - and began a side project making Mod-influenced miniskirts and dresses for her fellow editors.

In 1965, the talented youngster made a deal with a hot Manhattan boutique called Paraphernalia, and her designs became somewhat of an overnight sensation with the A-list set, including actress Julie Christie. By the early 1970's, Johnson had won accolades for her fashion creations, and she became a member of the downtown "in" crowd and started to make good money. But then a somber and subdued style of the moment emerged, and her whimsical clothing seemed ill-fitted for the trend. Suddenly, Johnson was having trouble making ends meet. In April 1975, she gave birth to a daughter named Lulu, whose father was a former lover.

In order to make money for her family of two, Johnson took freelance gigs making kids' clothes and sewing patterns. With the advent of punk rock and MTV in the late '80's, Johnson's star looked up again. She and a friend decided to start their own company, Betsey Johnson Inc., to sell Johnson's wild, wacky designs. The new clothing line was an instant success, selling like hotcakes and catching the eye of celebrities such as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper. The designer soon opened boutiques throughout Manhattan and in other big cities.

In addition, Johnson delighted in her role as doting mother. Although Lulu was embarrassed by her mom's unconventional ways when she was young, she came to embrace them as a teenager. Eventually, the two women became best friends and even business partners when Lulu came aboard her mother's company after graduating from high school. Just before Christmas in 1999, Johnson discovered a lump in her left breast. Just before her company holiday party, Johnson's worst fears came true when her doctor informed her that a biopsy had revealed she had breast cancer.

Johnson, who underwent surgery and 33 radiation treatments, initially kept her disease a secret, but eventually decided to use her experience to help other women. She has been an active member of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, a nonprofit organization that helps raise awareness and money for the cause. I don't think our clothing is really going to go through a massive change until we start going to other atmospheres". -- Betsey Johnson, designer Known for her outlandish creations, Betsey Johnson has helped push the fashion industry forward for more than three decades. She sees a time when clothes will be utilitarian, geared for such things as space travel. But Johnson has hopes that individuality will always prevail over the uniform.

A lot of people don't realize that fashion is art. {ellipsis} But I also have an appreciation for clothes that are also affordable and wearable, but original, which is why I love Betsey Johnson.