Betsy Johnson

Well, this morning started with a half conscious “How did the quote double?” [shouted to myself] out loud; my eyes barely open staring down the thoroughly exciting world of spreadsheets and set design breakdowns at 7am. It’s hard to homogenise a day to day when everyday is, and always has been, completely different.
The only constant is that most days I am past the point of no return lost in my own brain, spiralling into notes, a sketchbook or a deck or communicating with what feels like every person under the sun and overseeing 3274982108475 tasks. There is literally 0 middle ground. It’s not very glamorous, I don’t get out that much, but it’s great.

Some were real life, some less so. I so often base my work on real people, for this project I was operating more in the realms of surreal archetypes, only really achievable by Jazzelle, my muse for this story who could chameleon switch between the roles.

Ah thank you! I was actually a guest to the show and purely by accident arrived so late due to work I accidentally ended up in the line up (laughs).

The meaning is dependant on the audience I guess. I’m less about statements, more about conversation. To me the elitist landscape of fashion is made up of ex CSM’ers attempting the so called democratisation. But really it’s somewhat a mirror of communisms attempt at radical socialism = good intentions but kind of fell short in its extreme measures and still favoured its leaders and granted them rewards.

Fashion is hilarious in its contradictions. It wants to be art but caters (rightfully so) and sometimes painfully to its customer; it wants to cater to the customer and also be art. It cares and also doesn’t. How do we exist? I’m not sure. We surrender to its serious position within the artistic and economic space but we also have fun with it in our own capacity. Whether a day to day consumer or an industry art director. We recognise its flaws and also its power to change perspectives artistically as well as in infrastructure if fashion follows its so called ethics and sustainability attempts.

I grew up in western culture through a weird fish-tank of an isolated town and socialist parents. So it inherently is my work. I was pretty sheltered from pop culture growing up. So I hold onto the hilarious archetypes that surface from most obvious hilarity that is western culture mixed with the questionable politics and views of western democracy and it all just spirals from there.

For me it’s easier to isolate myself and cover these areas; it makes for more cohesion. I have great people and collaborators around me who I soundboard my ideas off. This always helps when I need a new perspective or a point back in the right direction if I’ve gone off the deep end.

My editorial and personal work if usually ideas I’m sat on. Most stories are developed over a few months or even years, I’m sat on ideas still from uni that aren’t quite ready. I dip in and out, add to concepts and ideas over time. With clients it’s more time sensitive. I spend a lot of my time isolated and researching. The news. Films. Books. Exhibitions. It’s hard to quantify, it’s always different sources that inform different aspects of my work.

I’ve always been quite a recluse when it comes to my work, so the isolation helped with idea incubation for sure. Financially it was the most stressful time of my life, I had to live with friends and my parents at certain parts to stay afloat.

I think it’s subjective. I hope I’m wrong but I think the future of fashion is a meta-fuelled dystopia, which I think subtracts from the essence of fashion itself. The physicality of it is so important. I’m conflicted about the whole thing.

Social media is a broad term. I owe a lot to Instagram back at uni, it really helped me access the fashion industry when 10 years ago I would have found it much more difficult to make any impact from outside of a fashion Capital. I think it’s so intrinsic to the existence of fashion now and in some cases solely relied upon as a market space for a consumer base. But again I think the physicality and authenticity fashion needs sometimes struggles to coexist with it. It’s refreshing when people find the balance and do it well.

A lot of to-do lists (laughs)! I spent the whole of 2020 side hustling hard and self funding personal projects. I’m not sure [how I do it] actually, I’ve never thought about it too much; I just constantly do regardless of anyone asking me to, paying me to or even wanting me to (laughs). The world opening up was nice. It forced me out of hiding but I've been on the road for 8 months solid; now mostly between Paris and London.

I don’t like telling people what im doing. You’ll see I guess!