The Fighter Fashion Designer Betsy Johnson
Born on the 10th of August 1942 Betsey Johnson is better known now for her fashion and designs tending towards the capricious and generally catering for the fairer gender. Love and passion for dance during her childhood days have been the source of her inspiration for costumes, which is one of the reasons she was one of the first designers brave enough to sell gold leggings and bright green dresses when the 80’s came rolling back. She even carried out a cartwheel at the end of her fashion shows.
Betsey Johnson finished her graduation from the Syracuse University and then had a stint of internship at the Mademoiselle magazine. It was here that she participated in a Guest Editor Contest that turned to be the springboard for her fashion career. She progressed in fast succession as the in-house designer of the Manhattan boutique Paraphernalia. It was in 1969 that Betsey Johnson set up her very own boutique located at the Upper East Side of New York and named it Betsy Bunki Nini.
Alley Cat, the Rock and Roll favourite band of the 70’s, wore the dresses designed by Betsy. It was the pinnacle of success and Johnson sped off with a massive $5 million worth of sales for her collection in the very year. She was awarded the Coty Award in 1972.
1978 saw her starting her own fashion line which was a running success in the first year but left her in doldrums in the second run. It was with the 3000 pieces that were left unsold from this debacle fashion show that she started the retail store in SoHo. The store houses have made worldwide presence today with more than forty five of them spread all over.
Success came to her in continuous flow for she had the flair that fashion demanded. However, in 2002 she was diagnosed for breast cancer. Even that could not deter her and she successfully survived the bout and today is one more of the cancer survivors that others would like to model up to.
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