GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 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: 

GRAND Magazine - March 2009

Table of Contents 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 - 1
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Magazine - March 2009
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Cover2
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 3
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND View
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 5
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Contents
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 7
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 8
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 9
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 10
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Central
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 12
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 13
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 14
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 15
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 16
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Isn't it GRAND?
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Hippest Grand of All?
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 19
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 20
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 21
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Saying Goodbye
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 23
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 24
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 25
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Necessities, Not
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 27
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - The Perils of the Purse
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 29
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Take Care
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 31
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 32
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 33
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Sexy at Sixty
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 35
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 50 ‘Hidden Treasure’ State Parks
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 37
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 38
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 39
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 40
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Resources
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 42
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - 43
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - GRAND Finale
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Cover3
GRAND Magazine - March 2009 - Cover4
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