Research Paper On Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson is a world renown American Fashion Designer. Betsey Johnson is known specifically for her “whimsical” designs (Betsey Johnson Biography). Johnson is extremely creative and artsy. Her journey and background have had much to do with her ideas and her many successes. Johnson was born on August 10th, 1942, in the cold city of Wethersfield, Connecticut. Johnson is one of three children, she has one older sister and a younger brother.

Betsey Johnson is significant in the fashion world because of her distinct fashion creativity. Her background in dance gives her a special appreciation for costumes, and some of those costume designs show through her work. Johnson worked extremely hard to get to where she is today. She studied at Pratt

Institute for some time. Pratt Institute is a college that specializes in the Arts. Here she was able to learn and develop her insight and love and for fashion. She finished her college career at the Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. She was not only creative, but she was smart as well. While Johnson attended Syracuse University, she made sure she was disciplined with her studies and she was able to graduate Phi Beta Kappa, and she also had the opportunity of joining the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority.
Johnson’s diligence and work ethic allowed her to land an internship with Mademoiselle fashion magazine.

While reading the Betsey Johnson Biography, it mentions that during this internship, she was able to enter into a guest editor contest where she won. This is where Johnson began to leave her mark in the fashion industry. She stayed in New York City and began to leave her mark by getting involved in the Youthquake fashion movement, as well as becoming apart of the Andy Warhol underground scene (A Vintage Affair, 2015). By doing this, Johnson was able to get her name and work noticed and network with other individuals. Johnson knew that in order to thrive and become successful, she needed to be involved in several different things in order to get different ideas. Having her hand in many different things inspired her extravagant fashion ideas. According to Think Fashion, Betsey Johnson became the in house designer for Manhattan Boutique Paraphernalia in the 1960’s. In the late 1960’s she was able to open her own Boutique, and she called it Betsey Bunky Nini. This name was a representation of Betsey Johnson’s quirky and fun side, she made sure the name of her boutique reflected herself, and it did. Betsey Johnson established her significance in the fashion industry by making sure she had her own distinct

style.
Betsey Johnson makes her designs different by using unique patterns and fabrics.

Some of her designs include vibrant floral cotton fabrics, some patterns Johnson uses involve skulls or animals, guns, pineapples, and basically anything anyone may find strange, she uses. She also has an influence of ruffles and bustle, tutus that she incorporates through some of her designs. She makes sure she keeps certain techniques that are older, but revamps them, making them more appealing to the culture today by adding that Betsey Johnson touch. She does not only incorporate these fabric designs in her clothing, but she also is creative and shows her personality throughout her jewelry, swimwear, footwear, bags, and luggage. Betsey Johnson has evolved into a household brand that offers more than just clothing. This is also something that makes her significant in the fashion industry. Betsey Johnson believes that one should always have fun with fashion and one should dress to entertain oneself (Biography.com

Editors).
Betsey Johnson makes pieces specifically for individuals to express themselves. The items that Johnson creates are very rare and specific to those who are a bit more artsy, fun, eclectic, and creative. Betsey makes clothing items specific to women, but is not specific to the types of women who wear her clothing. She has slim models and plus size models. She makes her pieces for different personalities; therefore, these personalities are not specific to gender or size. Her pieces are priced at a reasonable retail price making it affordable to those who love high-end fashion, or just the everyday shopper. In the beginning of Betsey Johnson’s career, there was a very selective group of individuals targeted to market her fashion. Perhaps this was just to get her product noticed, but it could be seen as discriminatory. At the end of the day, in the fashion industry, fashion designers do target a specific class and audience of people. This is a form of inequality as far as marketing goes, because many times marketing is only branded in certain areas attracting certain people. At times, it can be sad because it is those individuals who cannot afford a certain fashion designers designs that are most influenced and inspired by these fashion designers. I believe something that has progressed and happened over time is the allowance of these items to be sold in everyday retail stores so that every day people can have the opportunity to support their favorite designers at a reasonable price. A lot of Betsey Johnson products can be found in retailers such as Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Macy’s, and Nordstrom.
The way marketing happens, I do not know if it is intentional of the designer or the marketing team as to who or where they market. However, Betsey Johnson is a very open spirit and displays this in her fashion shows. She is herself, and has not changed for anyone. She is quirky and that is okay, she has been married three times, and that is okay as well. I believe her brand promotes being happy and expressing ones own happiness in whatever way they feel. Johnson was asked, what motivates her to keep her going, "I like the everyday process and 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 products 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 (Biography.com Editors).” Betsey Johnson is known for doing cartwheels and splits at the end of her fashion shows. She is extremely expressive and does not hold back, no matter who is around. There is no debate that Betsey Johnson’s free spirit is expressive through her lifestyle as well as her designs.