Betsey Johnson's spring 2003 collection was titled "My Blue Heaven," but it could just as well have been called "Infectious Enthusiasm." For Johnson, festive dressing is an everyday affair, and joie de vivre a driving principle.
This season, though, there were a few changes in the routine: Johnson showed the collection on August 10 at her East Hampton home, as the centerpiece of a daylong party that also celebrated her 60th birthday and her company's 24th year in business. The poolside show featured some reworkings of her greatest hits: tight jersey dresses printed with big, cheerful cabbage roses, corset tops and candy-colored lacy tulle petticoats, as well as a few punkette slashed pieces for the bad girls. Everything was tight, sheer or micro-short—the bathing suits could have embarrassed a Brazilian—but under Johnson's guidance, good cheer overwhelmed any whiff of potential sluttiness.
Johnson claims she's hit a milestone in her life and that now is the time to step back and let daughter Lulu take over much of the daily business. Whether that really happens remains to be seen, but one thing is inevitable: Wherever she ends up, Johnson will be spreading the love.
