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Betsey Johnson

By Carla Bevan on Tuesday 5 February 2008

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Betsey Johnson Autumn/Winter 2008

Jack Kerouac's On The Road was the inspiration behind Betsey Johnson's 30th anniversary 'Beat Girl' collection.

More specifically, the sentence: 'There I am. 2pm. What day is it? Beautiful young girls running up the library steps with shorts on.'

Betsey's models didn't quite run up library steps, but they embraced the seedy, bar-room mood, and pulled off their smudged eyeliner, crimped hairdos and sultry outfits with attitude.

The opening outfit - a fringed suede jacket over skin-tight catsuit - set the mood, which played out with lurex leggings, georgette silks and patent leather hotpants.

It wasn't all about late-night living, however, with Betsey Johnson offering a second retrospective collection curated from her favourite pieces from the past 30 years, entitled 'Betsey's Favourite Oldies'.

Plucked mainly from the late Seventies and mid-Eighties, devil-may-care prints and sexy shapes featured heavily in the 18-piece parade of high-cut swimsuits, maxi dresses and sweaters, which strutted onto the catwalk to the strains of the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen.

As presumptuous and audacious as the new collection, it served as reminder that this is one American designer who might not play by the rules, but never really has done.

Click here to read Carla's blog live from the Betsey Johnson show.

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