FIDM Museum Blog

Betsey Johnson sweater, 1983-84

Is it a sweater or is it a dress? A sweater dress? For the fan of Betsey Johnson's playful, eye-catching designs, this question would be of little concern. According to the designer herself, people who wear Betsey Johnson, "don't get stuck in fashion-says-do-this, fashion-says-do-that...The important thing is to be playful. And experiment."¹ Like her clientele, Johnson was aware that strict fashion rules had fallen by the wayside in favor of a more eclectic approach to fashion. Instead of a strict formula for success, Johnson preferred to think of fashion as a catch-all "vegetable soup," a mix of different textures, flavors and colors that changed from person to person.²

Betsey Johnson
1983-84
Gift of Anonymous Donor
2003.40.96

Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat

Like Twiggy, Betsey Johnson's career began in the youth oriented 1960s. From the beginning, Johnson's designs had a playful, almost costume-like sensibility, an outlook her work maintains to this day. In numerous interviews, Johnson has suggested that this aesthetic stems from the colorful dance costumes she both wore and sewed as a child. "I can't believe how much I remember being an octopus, a butterscotch candy, a little flame" she stated in a 1972 interview.¹

Jacket of fake fur and quilted corduroy
Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat
1971
FIDM Museum Purchase
2008.5.2