The Betsey Johnson spring/summer 2016 runway show was flooded with so many festive designs. There is no better way to celebrate half a decade of a considerable experience in fashion design than by looking back through the archives reviving the best and the most iconic looks. This is what Betsey did by bringing back her earlier works starting with her own childhood dance costumes and ending with the freshest designs, thus showing her immense passion towards dance costumes, which have always inspired and influenced her style.
It was a collection of bold and whimsical vintage designs, mostly princess dresses that you’d usually use to dress up your Barbie dolls back in your childhood. This was how the show kicked off flooding the runway with colorful tutu dresses utilizing bright shades, including fuchsias, turquoises, lilacs, soft pinks, tie-dye and rainbow motifs, as well as rich metallic touches. Tons of ruffles, frills, sequins and over-the-top embellishments enhanced the extravaganza about the pieces, which came styled with golden jewelry pieces, towering platform shoes and booties using neon colors and leopard patterns. This range of pieces was soon followed by heavily printed and layered ‘90s-inspired looks bringing back the designer’s signature floral patterns and figure-enhancing corsets worn over the tutu dresses and the jumpsuits. Colorful socks and printed leggings were other accessories used here in line with printed elbow-length gloves and heeled shoes.
The ‘90s soon got interrupted by the rock attitude of the ‘80s and we were treated to edgier, yet more elegant outfits composed of pinstripe jumpsuits, a transparent raincoat matched with a spider-patterned red knit skirt, a black vinyl tutu dress and zebra-print colorful dresses. After the colorful ‘70s showcasing lots of crazy knitwear, of course, the most functional and easy-to-wear looks were the ones depicting the ‘60s featuring Twiggy-inspired jumpsuits and mod dresses worn with black tights, big earrings and pointy-toe metallic flats. Overall, the looks of each decade were accessorized so perfectly to completely reflect the mood and style of that particular era, and this was seen in the models’ hair and makeup looks as well.
