New York designer Betsey Johnson has been to there and back, and left an exceptionally memorable and colorful trail in her wake. Born in Westfield, CT, Betsey's fashion career started in 1964 when she entered a Mademoiselle Guest Editor contest and won. Within a year of the contest, she was the in-house designer for a famous Manhattan boutique called Paraphernalia and an integral member of Andy Warhol's underground scene. Betsey opened her first boutique called Betsey Bunki Nini in 1969. But it wasn't until 1978 that she founded her own fashion line with her partner at the time, Chantal Bacon. She opened her first namesake boutique in SoHo, and now has over 45 boutiques worldwide.

If a visual of a Betsey Johnson dress doesn't immediately come to mind, then you've never seen a Betsey Johnson dress. Betsey was once quoted as saying, "Making clothes involves what I like... color, pattern, shape and movement... I like the everyday process... the people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking and dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up and brighten and bring the wearer to life... drawing attention to her beauty and specialness... her moods and movements... her dreams and fantasies." Her designs illuminate exactly what is gorgeous about the unique and non-conforming. The most phenomenal part about Betsey's clothes is that they look wonderful on the woman wearing them because Betsey is so attentive to the female form. It's the ultimate collection for women who want a little extra pizzazz in their wardrobes or for women that like the finer things in life but prefer not to look like their pearl/sweater set mothers.

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The world mostly knows Betsey for her eccentric and unconventional design sense. She is also a breast cancer survivor, and is now a very vocal advocate against the disease. Not only has she participated in several fund raising events, she has also created a number of one-of-a-kind items that have been auctioned off for charity. In 2004, Betsey teamed up with Geralyn Lucas, author of "Why I Wore Lipstick... to my Mastectomy," and designed a special t-shirt that was sold in Betsey Johnson stores and at the Courage Nights events.

Recently, Betsey expanded her collection to design for younger girls and infants. She earned a handful of awards throughout the years for her work in the industry, and in 2002 she was inducted into the Fashion Walk of Fame.

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