Ariel Chana Pellman

Everyone knows I’m a @betseyjohnson babe. She’s been inspiring me as an artist and designer since my friend introduced me to her work at age 12. Betsey has loomed large in my life and in my understanding of myself. I’d go to the boutiques and dream of having Big Girl Money for beautiful clothes and glittering bags and shoes. When I discovered the outlet stores, they became a pilgrimage site (what trip to Disney world was complete without a stop at the Tanger Outlet in Orlando?) I could have my very own Betsey! I began collecting about 20 years ago. Then the worst thing in the world happened. Betsey’s investors betrayed her and it was the end of an era. I remember going to the boutiques in the end-days, feeling both euphoric at the sales and devastated at the realization I might have to find something else to wear for the rest of my life! Feeling angry for this artist, whose collaborators wanted to dilute her brilliance in pursuit of a buck. Betsey knew what she was about, and she wasn’t going to compromise and I had such respect for it. But I went to every store, talking with the sales associates who had become friends, all of them going through this impending loss. We were grieving and shopping! It was bizarre and frantic. For a year and a half I watched sample sales pop up all over the city and I’d go, collecting whatever I could. 15 years later they are still the staples of my wardrobe. I really did shop for the clothes I’d wear for the rest of my life.

So going to the pop up store today was a real treat. To be back in soho with Betsey Johnson. My absolute favorite thing was to see this gallery of her work in a way I’ve never seen. Not the polished illustrations that were always on display in her boutiques, but the paintings themselves- wild brushstrokes of neon tempera on foam core with the price tags still on and torn sketchbook pages with perforated edges. Betsey has an eye for composition to rival Cezanne and a skill for color to rival Kandinsky. It was such a pleasure to see originals up close and in person.

I even found a treasure to complement my wedding dress; a little Betsey magic for the big day. It’s like it was waiting just for me.