Betsey Johnson Is Still the Queen of Pretty Punk

It’s a bright afternoon when I sit down to chat with Betsey Johnson, who is framed by two pink rose flourishes. The sun is cresting through her Malibu home, which she’s coined the “pink dollhouse.” She’s donning her signature look: blunt, choppy bangs and a vibrant red pout. 

On the cusp of turning 80, she’s as buoyant as ever, immediately springing up to give me a twirl in her Modal Hold Me Nightgown in the butterfly adorned, Y2K-esque Flutter By print. We’re meeting to discuss the launch of our new Knix x Betsey Collection wherein several of her iconic prints — some of which haven’t been seen in 20 years — are being revived as part of a limited edition assortment of sleepwear, underwear, and bras. 

“A slip dress is an anything dress. It's a nightgown dress. It's an out-to-dinner dress. It's a funky-sneakers-hang-out dress,” she says on the topic of people taking to the streets in the elevated sleep top, bottoms, and nightgowns that make up the bold-hued collection. 

According to her, the concept of underwear as outerwear has been around since the 60s. She recalls a time when wearing lingerie out to a dinner party was the norm; when designers would create ornate undergarments meant to be layered and worn as fashion. “It was lingerie, but it was also glamorous. It’s a two-fer. I think everybody should get that.” 

Her teenage granddaughters, she’s certain, won’t think twice to sport the collection’s nightgowns as dresses and bras as crop tops to be styled with jeans. What’s boring, she states, is the notion of wearing a white bra. “I mean, doesn’t every girl have a leopard bra?” Probably not, but there’s a case to be made that everyone should have at least one in their top drawer. 

Bras and underwear, in large part, are designed to disappear seamlessly under your clothes (we know a thing or two about that here at Knix). But what makes this collection so special is that it’s meant to be seen. To her point, who wouldn’t want their butterfly-printed bra peeking out from under a white, flowy summer shirt?

As always, Johnson likes to keep things pretty-punk — and wherever people fall on that spectrum, she loves that the collection caters to a range of personal styles. Delicate with a “retro feel,” the butterfly print is nostalgic and feminine.

Johnson, who says she’s done at least two leopard prints each year of her long-spanning career, holds that the Pretty Kitty print from the collection is among her favorite leopard prints ever. For her, it represents the rock and roll side coming out to play. 

Arguably Johnson’s most famous design, the rose print is universal — as evidenced by the fact that she’s been using it on and off in her creations for 40 years. It’s no surprise then that roses are her favorite bloom. “To me, every woman looks beautiful standing in a flower garden. And every woman looks beautiful with a flower garden on her dress, on her body.”

Considering how illustrious her decades-spanning career has been, it’s hard to believe just how organically her self-taught vocation as a designer came together. 

Growing up in Connecticut, she lived in leotards and dreamed of becoming a dancer. After cheerleading throughout college, she won a contest at fashion magazine Mademoiselle and suddenly found herself living in New York City in her early twenties.

She worked at the magazine for a year before making the switch to fashion at an iconic boutique where she went to work making patterns and sewing garments. Before long, she was designing clothes for Studio 54-era band The Velvet Underground. 

Inspired by ballerina dresses, bold prints, and the slinky silhouettes of the 30s, Johnson’s artistry has always translated through her designs, resonating with those looking for girlish shapes and patterns with an edge. Eventually, she struck it out on her own (as a single mom, no less) and never looked back.

A few years ago Johnson traded in New York for the Golden State, settling with her family in Malibu. She flirted briefly with the idea of moving to London, but decided she was tired of the cold. Seeing her sunlit home with its ocean view and bubblegum pink exterior, it’s not hard to imagine why she’s loving the change. “I love the heat, the chill, the beauty. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been.”

Her daughter, Lulu, and teenage granddaughters, who she cites as major sources of inspiration, live just down the street. For her, they represent her younger demographic of customers — “they’re the seed of the idea” — but are completely immune to just how cool their grandma is. “They're not impressed by my career and what I do at all.”

“I know they’re going to love this stuff,” she beams, in reference to the new collection. “If I like it at [age] seventy nine and three-quarters and they like it as teenagers, then I know we’re onto something.”

The Knix x Betsey Johnson Collection launches April 12 and is breathing new life into your favorite styles, including the LuxeLift Pullover Bra, WingWoman Bra, High Rise Leakproof Underwear, Modal Sleep Top and Bottom, Hold Me Nightgown, and more.