Scent of a woman

Scent of a woman
Fashion designer Betsey Johnson on her “very girly” first fragrance.

Betsey Johnson recently cartwheeled through Toronto for the Canadian launch of her debut fragrance collection. The eponymous perfume is the most recent addition to the ever-expanding catalogue available to what Johnson describes as the “Betsey girl.” After 40 years in the fashion industry, Johnson seems more enthusiastic than ever. Her fashion career began in the 1960s when she dressed the likes of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground. By 1978, she had her own line; today, she has more than 50 stores worldwide. A new grandmother and a recent cancer survivor, Johnson doesn’t ready to stop any time soon. FASHION’s Charlotte Herrold talked to her about the language of perfume, rock ‘n’ roll idols, and duty-free shopping.

What was the first fragrance that you ever really loved?
“I remember Evening in Paris and Shalimar. Shalimar was a big fragrance in my high school years. And I remember the first time I saw an AC/DC boy/girl kind of fragrance. It was called Canoe, and we would say, ‘Oh my god, we’re wearing guys’ cologne!’ Now it’s all fresh sea breeze and ying yang and wear what you want. Now, I tend to hop around with fragrances. I buy the bottle first, the smell second. If it doesn’t look good, I’m convinced it doesn’t smell good.”

How important were aesthetics when creating the fragrance?
“The first time out, I wanted it to be really Betsey. It had to look special and be sweet and very girly. It’s floral, candy-like, addictive, eat-it-up. I wear it! I get lots of compliments from guys. Something I say is, ‘It’s only as good as the compliments you get.’ Same with cooking a meal for someone or wearing a dress. With perfume you want feedback, because it isn’t really anything you can show someone. You can’t say, ‘See my pretty dress,’ or, ‘Taste my pretty meal.’”

You already have another fragrance in the works, and there is talk of a line of legwear and one of makeup. Is there a point at which you will stop expanding?
“I love licensing! We’re on to the second perfume, and we’re developing variations on the first one: creams, roll-ons. It explodes into all these other categories of smelly stuff. We definitely would love to do cosmetics and jeans, even menswear. And children’s is a category I’m dying to get into. It’s great to be making more of all the stuff that my girl wears. She can have my version of watches, sunglasses, jewellery, swimwear, lingerie, and all that junk.”

Amy Winehouse performs in your dresses and even got married in one. What was your reaction?
“She is my idol! I love it when people come along and they’re wonderful and talented and really kick-ass new, and they also love my clothes! I very rarely get on celebrities because they want couture and Armani, whereas Amy is more like my street down-and-dirty gal. That she got married in my little anchor dress – it’s just the best thing to happen to me since Prince. It’s just so fun when you really like someone and they like you. That’s what it’s all kind of about. It’s connecting with people through a perfume or a dress. It’s saying, ‘Good, it wasn’t just crazy little me who made that polka dot dress that only I would wear. You would wear it too!’”

Rumour has it that your clothing line is returning to your edgier design roots.
“I’m hoping to go back to cotton Lycra, my favourite fabric. I love stretchy stuff ‘cause I wanted to be a dancer, so I grew up in leotards. I am trying to kick in a little more fun, sexiness, over-the-top Betsey, like the good old days. I also like – having grown up a bit – more sophisticated clothes as well. It’s not just me, me, me. It’s more like taking what you love and then just making it for a more varied customer.”

How do you maintain your trademark uniqueness given that so many designers and celebrities are putting out perfumes now?
“Now doesn’t Beyoncé have a perfume, and Sarah Jessica? Do baseball players have perfumes? You need to have a perfume. It says you are part of the real world when you have a perfume. If a girl likes your clothes and likes your shoes and likes your jewellery, she’s going to want to have your perfume on her shelf.” Are you going for the same look for your second fragrance?
“The first perfume came from a lovely old vintage bottle I saved since high school. It’s so easy for me to do the bottle and the packaging – everything but the smell. It’s hard ‘cause you’re smelling all this stuff, and you think, Great, we’ve almost got it! Then you wake up the next morning and you smell it and you go, Well, that’s really wrong!”

So designing a perfume is very different from designing a dress?
“Perfume is all in your head. And it’s more difficult because it’s a language I don’t know, a whole other world of sensitivity. It’s funny how you talk the language. You say, ‘Well, if the perfume was a room, what room would it be?’ And I always say, ‘Oh, the bedroom!’ I think my happiest moment in the perfume world will be when I’m travelling through the airport and go to a duty free shop and I see my perfume. That’s when I’ll know I’ve hit it home.”

Article from: fashionmagazine