GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 18) cover story W 18 GRAND MARCH The hippesT grand of all? By Mary ann Cooper Betsey Johnson’s pixie energy passes to a third generation atching designer Betsey Johnson do cart- wheels at the conclusion of a runway show, it’s hard to believe that this woman has been a cutting-edge, over-the-top designer for more than 40 years. “There’s something so childlike and unique about her. It’s almost like she’s playing with paper dolls. She’s exuberant and exciting, which makes her shows so much fun. They’re a celebration,” says Elizabeth Phillips, founder and designer of Elspeth handbags . Ten years ago, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) invented the Timeless Talent Award for Johnson, who has stayed fresh and relevant by following her own set of rules and, as she has said, tapping into her inner child. That celebration has now extended to include Johnson’s granddaughters, Ella and Layla, whom she showed off at the end of her spring 2009 runway show. (Johnson sold her Greenwich Village apartment and used the cash to buy two apartments uptown on Madison Avenue. She lives in one, and her daughter, Lulu—whom Johnson describes as her closest friend—and granddaughters live in the other. Johnson says the best part of her day is the morning when, at 7:30, she runs downstairs to visit her granddaughters.) Johnson’s love of fashion began in dancing lessons when she was a child: She loved the theatrics of costume and performing. In 1965 she burst onto the New York fashion scene as the top designer for the clothing boutique Paraphernalia, where she worked alongside hot, young London designers such as Mary Quant and Paco Rabanne. That experience honed Johnson’s distinctive images, such as the use of sexy silhouettes and flowing fabrics. In those early years Johnson’s fashion world included pop-culture icons Andy Warhol and Velvet Underground rock-and- 2009 click and connect to more resources instantly where you see this symbol: http://www.elspethnyc.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - March 2009 GRAND Magazine - March 2009 GRAND View Contents GRAND Central Isn't it GRAND? The Hippest Grand of All? Saying Goodbye Necessities, Not The Perils of the Purse Take Care Sexy at Sixty 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks Resources GRAND Finale GRAND Magazine - March 2009 GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 1) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Magazine - March 2009 (Page Cover1) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Magazine - March 2009 (Page Cover2) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Magazine - March 2009 (Page 3) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND View (Page 4) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND View (Page 5) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Contents (Page 6) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Contents (Page 7) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Contents (Page 8) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Contents (Page 9) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Contents (Page 10) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central (Page 11) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central (Page 12) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central (Page 13) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central (Page 14) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central (Page 15) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central (Page 16) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Isn't it GRAND? (Page 17) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Hippest Grand of All? (Page 18) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Hippest Grand of All? (Page 19) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Hippest Grand of All? (Page 20) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Hippest Grand of All? (Page 21) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Saying Goodbye (Page 22) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Saying Goodbye (Page 23) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Saying Goodbye (Page 24) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Saying Goodbye (Page 25) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Necessities, Not (Page 26) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Necessities, Not (Page 27) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Perils of the Purse (Page 28) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Perils of the Purse (Page 29) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Take Care (Page 30) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Take Care (Page 31) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Take Care (Page 32) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Take Care (Page 33) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Sexy at Sixty (Page 34) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Sexy at Sixty (Page 35) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks (Page 36) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks (Page 37) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks (Page 38) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks (Page 39) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks (Page 40) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Resources (Page 41) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Resources (Page 42) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Resources (Page 43) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Finale (Page 44) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Finale (Page Cover3) GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Finale (Page Cover4)
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