“Making clothes involves what I like… Colour, pattern, shape & movement… I like the everyday process… The people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking & dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up & brighten & bring the wearer to life… Drawing attention to her beauty & specialness… Her moods & movements… Her dreams & fantasies.” — Betsey Johnson

The Betsey Johnson show on the 9th of September was every girl’s dream. It was so theatrical & over-the-top — totally brilliant. I kept turning to my friend Yuli & making gaping, flabbergasted faces!

A fashion veteran at 66 years old, Betsey is well-known for her extravagant shows, for her wicked design aesthetic & for cartwheeling down the catwalk! With 45 boutiques across the world, Betsey shows no sign of slowing down, & in fact, her creations seem to be getting even more fabulous.

I adored my very first Betsey Johnson show, & hope to attend many more in the future!

Betsey wore green throughout the show. She came out in a gingham, off-the-shoulder frock. She was holding her newest granddaughter, Ella, & holding the hand of other granddaughter Layla, as she handed out balloons.

The show had an amazing atmosphere & energy. The music was loud & fabulous, with bass that vibrated throughout the entire tent & up through the seats. The models wore bobbed wigs of blue, pink, black & purple, & walked with sass & attitude. They skipped & twirled & blew kisses at the cameras.

So, how was the collection? It ran an incredible gamut, veering from Little House On The Prairie gone awry to a procession of virginal brides in white with their hands chained behind their backs.

Every outfit was accessorised with a small bowler hat. As one tends to expect from Betsey, there were plenty of ruffles & prints. Polka-dots, pinstripes & a skull & crossbones motif all made their presence felt. There were also plenty of hoop skirts, what looked like floral hospital gowns, ruffled bloomers, striped stockings, colourful fingerless gloves, pinstriped rompers in pastel hues, tattered ribbon skirts in candy colours & tropicana sun-dresses.

The stand-out looks for me were a Victorian hospital chic outfit complete with lace-up bloomers & corset, all in white, & an incredible strapless tie-dyed ruffled maxi-dress.

Pirate chic was big, & introduced by a staggering Jack Sparrow-esque character, who leered at the girls as they strutted past & laughed to himself.

You can see plenty of fabulous runway shots here at Style.com!

Betsey closed the show by running out in a huge, sparkly dress in emerald green — very Wizard of Oz — & cartwheeling down the runway before taking theatrical bows. She was followed by a parade of models, all holding vibrantly-coloured helium balloons. They danced & sashayed down the runway & back, to huge applause.

I took some video, too. Unfortunately, the lights were so insanely bright that it made filming difficult, but it does give you an idea of the music, the energy & the atmosphere! Watch until the end — the balloons are amazing!