ABOUT THE DESIGNER

8/7/2019 ABOUT THE DESIGNER

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By:

HARSHITA SUMAN

ROLL NO:06

FD III

NIFT KOLKATA


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ABOUT THE DESIGNER

BetseyJohnson

Born 10 August, 1942

Johnson's fashion careerstartedwhen sheenteredandwon

the Mademoiselle GuestEditor Contest.

Within a yearshe wasthe inhousedesigner forthe

Manhattan boutique Paraphernalia.

Johnson became partof both theyouth quake fashion

movementandAndyWarhol's undergroundscene, alongwith The VelvetUnderground, Edie Sedgwick andLou Reed

In 1969,she openeda boutique calledBetseyBunki Nini on New

York's Upper EastSide


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New York designerBetseyJohnson has builtherlong

standing career in fashion by

following her own setof

rules.

Known for her celebration of

theexuberant,the

embellished, andthe overthe

top,

Betseyhas been rockingthe

fashion industrywith her

unique andoriginaldesignssincethe 1960s.


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EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE

Betseywas born in Connecticutandspenther childhoodin

dance classes. Her aspirationsto be a dancer andherlove for

costumeslaidthe foundation forBetseys creativityand

inspiration, which isstillevidentin herdesignstoday

After high school, Johnson studiedatthe PrattInstitute

andthen later graduatedfrom Syracuse Universitywhere

she was a member oftheAlpha Xi Delta sorority.

In 1964,BetseyofficiallyenteredtheNew York fashionscene bywinning Mademoisellemagazines GuestEditor

Contest.


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Oneyearlater,shelandedthetopdesigner position forParaphernalia, a clothing boutiquethatatthetime housedthe

hottestyoung London designers, including MaryQuantandPacoRabanne, among others. Whatwouldsoon become known as

Betseystrademark look began its formulations here:sexy

silhouettes, hippie inspiredflowing fabrics, whimsicaldetailing

and,mostimportantly, a fabulous fit.

Now firmlypartof whatwas consideredthe Youth Quake,Betseysoon foundherself in the unforgettable 1960s Warholscene.

In 1969,Betseybegan her forayinto retailbyopening a new

boutique calledBetseyBunkiNini.

Directlyfollowingthe openingstoreBetseywas offereda job

fromAlvin Duskin in San Francisco andthus began living a bi

coastallife forthe remainingyears ofthe 60s.


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Along with the newdecade came new career opportunities for

Betseyandin theearly1970s,she came into creative controlof

thelabelAlleyCat, a labelwhich setthetrends forthe 70s rockn rollclothing, with bohemian andethnicstyles.

In 1972, along with Halston,Betseywon the covetedCotyAward

becomingtheyoungestdesignerto ever receivethe honor.

After a decade ofdesigning for otherlabels,Betseydecidedto

make a dramatic change in herlife andin 1978,she formeda

partnership with ChantalBacon andstartedtheBetseyJohnson

label, as itis known today.Designing for herself allowedBetsey

the creative freedomto execute her vision to its fullest

potential.ThesameyearBetseyandChantallaunchedtheir firstretail

store in the heartof Soho.In theearly80s,theywere one of

the firstto open a store on MelroseAvenue in LosAngeles,

helpingthestreetto gain its worldwide recognition as one of

the bestshopping areas ofthe 1980s.


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Todaythere are oversixty

fiveBetseyJohnson stores

worldwide.Internationalexpansion came

in 1998 with the opening ofthe

wildlypopular London store.

In 1999the Vancouverstore

openeditsdoors andToronto

openedin earlySeptember

2003.

In September 2006,the first

BetseyJohnson store opened

in Japan.BetseyJohnson

clothing is also available inbetterdepartmentstores as

wellas in specialtystores

throughoutthe country, and

in Europe andAsia.


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TIME FRAME,COUNTRY & SOCIAL

CONDITIONS

Betseyspent5years atParaphernalia, andshe recallsthat

duringthatphase of herlife,she hadfree reign to design

whatever itwasthatsheliked.

There was no merchandise person telling her whatwouldsellandwhatwouldnotsell.

Later on,Betseystartedher own company, calledBetseyBunki

Nini with two friends.In 2008. She claimsshe was a girlfrienddesignerto women; her clothes were accessible andherdesigns

were notup on a pedestal.

She gainedcontrolofthe readytowearlabelAlleyCat, which

often cateredto biggerladies,


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By1978,Betseywas readyto venture outon her own, with a

labelbearing her own name andownedbyher.

She claimedthatotherdesign houseslovedher, butdidnt

wantto investanymoneyin her, as her zanydesigns were

often thoughtto be highrisk in the commercialworld.

She partneredup with business associate ChantalBacon,

whomshemetin 1975 whiledesigningthe childrensline

Shutterbug,to startdesigning under BetseyJohnson.

Betseyscrapedtogether allof hermoneyto starttheline.


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WORK OF THE DESIGNER

Betseystrademark look :

sexysilhouettes

hippie inspired

F lowing fabrics

whimsicaldetailing and,

a fabulous fit.


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SPRING 2008 READY TO

WEAR

Life is justa prom!"ThusdidBetseyJohnson explain the giddy

mindsetof her quintessential

"girl.theshow was organizeddecadebydecade, fromthe fifties (huge

crinolines)through thesixties

andseventies (Empire waists and

daisies)to now.Itconsisted

almostexclusivelyof petticoated

partydressesdashedwith


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FALL 2008 READY TO

WEAR

Theshow, which openedwith agreatfringedleather jacket,

featuredviablemixandmatch

pieceslike a twillblazer, a suede

wrapskirt, a zebra cardigan,

Lurex leopardleggings, andasexystretchdenim catsuit that


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WEAR

Theshow hada seeminglytyke

friendlytheme of piratesmeets

Peter PanThemodels,even when sporting

strangelyattractive hoopskirted

dresses in kiddienurseryprints,

didn'tGratetheirsex appeal.And

the final"RobbedRoyalty"section of

theshow involvedhandcuffedbrides.

Victorian jackets, bathingsuits,

intarsia sweaters, vavavoomcorsets andtied edmaxidresses


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FALL 2009 READY TO

WEAR

Lookingeitherlikeextras from araunchyEllen von Unwerth shoot

orlike CyndiLauper,themodelswore rose prints,lace, and

petticoats. Forcedto think more

commercially,tooas aremost

of her colleaguesJohnson also

showedTshirts from hersoon

tolaunch teeline as wellas


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WEAR

She usedbodysuits andleopardprints, butshe offeredthem in

neater,more refinedsilhouettes.Alittle jerseynumber wasmade up in

a Liberty-style floral, while prettyred-and-white partydresseswithcrinis an almosttraditionaltoile.If

onelookedclosely, one couldmake

outtheskulls hidden amongthe


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ASSOCIATION IN THE ART WORLD

Betseywas born in Connecticutandspenther childhoodin dance

classes. Her aspirationsto be a dancer andherlove for

costumeslaidthe foundation forBetseys creativityand

inspiration, which isstillevidentin herdesignstoday.

ThroughoutallofBetseysshows, itis obviousthatshe is

driven bypopularmusic.

Storyline is importantthroughoutallofBetseys productions.Everyshowshe hasmusicmatchedto thestage,


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PRODUCT RANGE

legwear,footwear,handbags,

cosmeticcases,

watches,

accessories,cold

weather goods,

intimate


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USPWhile countless brandsdescribethemselves as

flirtyor sassy,Betseyexemplifies both.BetseyJohnson, both the woman andthelabel, is

constantlymoving forward

andcontinuesto keep a strong footholdin the fashionindustrywith no signs

ofletting up anytimesoon.

Herlove ofdetailanddesign isevidentin everythingshedoes in

life andin business. Herenthusiasm, creativityandboundless

talentthathave kepther atthe forefrontof fashion forthe past

45years willkeepBetseygoing foryearsto come.


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CAOMPAIRING AN INDIAN DESIGNERStyle isthemantra forRohit Bal,

the fashion designer fromtheenduring valleyof Kashmir.The"Bad

Boy"ofthe fashion world, asRohit

Balis popularlycalled, is known for

hissophisticatedcuts andbreathing

fabrics. He weaves in the bestfor

both men andwomen. His creations

are a reflection of his own

personality notrestrainedbyany

norms.Rohit Bal's creativemind

gives a true bentofspiritin his

work as well.Being christenedbytheTimesmagazine asthe"Master of

Fabric andFantasy", he purelylive

upto theexpectations of being

amongthe bandwagon oftheIndian

fashion industryleaders.Subtle inhis choice of colors,Rohitprefersto


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BIBLIOGRAPHYhttp://www.fashiontraveler.com/newsite/media/fotos/tiendas/BetseyJohnsonMadison3.jpg

http://www.glitteratimagazine.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/betseyjohnsonblackfriday

sale.jpghttp://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/BetseyJohnsonbetseyjohnson85292_402_437.jpghttp://www.missomnimedia.com/2009/08/womenmakinghistorybetseyjohnson/http://www.style.com/fashionshows/designerdirectory/

BJOHNSON/seasonshttp://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/betseyjohnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_Johnson

http://www.betseyjohnson.com/


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THANK YO!!1

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ABOUT THE DESIGNER