Betsey Johnson Fall 2014: Street Sirens

Inspiration:  Hotness and yeah more hotness.  Yep, Johnson’s invitation featured a red hot water bottle with a message that blared, “It’s cold outside.  Betsey’s hot.”  Likewise, her runway program, edged in flame graphics, showed a red burner on a stove and touted the message once again:  “Betsey’s Hot.”  Her concept?  Rihanna meets "American Hustle," and Johnson opened up her very deep bag of '70s tricks to underscore the notion.

The vibe:  Wild and kind of wonderful.  We’ve covered Johnson’s runway romps for years but this one – wow.  Kooky, hootchie and all-out fun with a finale, (to underscore the hotness) featuring two bare-chested firemen with fake fire extinguishers and loud sirens blaring in the background.  One downer, they seemed to have held the show for a late-arriving Paris Hilton, who sauntered onto the runway and to her seat after the lights were down and the show about to start.

Lust-o-meter:  There was plenty of fun stuff here for the younger set – little vinyl poodle skirts, hot pants topped with animal print sweaters, sequin suits in red, brazen yellow and red faux furs, and the mini-est of all minis in a variety of iterations. We liked these best when worn with a longer piece like a flowy snakeskin print topper. All this was paired with array of wild shoes, boots and bags, and many looks were styled with striped thigh-high legwarmers or knee socks.

What the…?:  Oh we could go on here but we'll keep it brief -- a painted on silver bodysuit with cutouts…who wears that?  And a pair of red sparkly boots looked like it was stolen right off the set of Broadway's “Kinky Boots.”

Our take:  Spunk and spirit are always welcome in the fashion world and you can count on that from Betsey Johnson.  And P.S. – yes, she did her signature cartwheel and split for the finale with no problem.