Katy Perry & Betsey Johnson: Bosom Buddies

Sassy punker Katy Perry, who topped Billboard and iTunes charts with her raucous hit “I Kissed A Girl,” says that she grew up coveting the sexy, colorful and body-conscious designs of Betsey Johnson. The admiration, it turns out, is mutual: Johnson, a playful soul for all seasons, expresses an almost teenage enthusiasm for Perry’s music, attitude and look. The two disciplined free spirits got together with James Servin to talk about fame, fabulousness, inspiration and female bonding.

BETSEY JOHNSON: Katy! I’m so excited for you! You’re plugging and pushing and getting mega plays. That’s great!

KATY PERRY: I’m kickin’ and screamin’ until they notice.

BJ: You deserve it. You have the talent, the balls, the look, the smarts and the voice. And if you ever need clothes, let me know.

BLACKBOOK: When did you two first meet?

BJ: The first time I met Katy, she was shopping in my store, working with a stylist, and we were like, This is totally our girl.

KP: Betsey let me borrow from her personal collection.

BJ: You picked out my favorite vintage pieces—including a big, boxy knit sweater with butterflies on it that I did when Boy George made his “Karma Chameleon” video. It’s oversized, with shoulder pads.

KP: If I could say so, Betsey, I remember wearing some of those articles of clothing and finding your receipts in the pockets. As girls, we know how important it is to exchange and give back. 

BJ: I want to have the stuff enjoyed. Sitting here, it’s just a stupid vintage collection. So, Katy, I’m reviving my Punk label. I’m redoing the pencils and the stoves and the tattoo prints, and all that more edgy rock ’n’ roll stuff.

KP: That would be awesome.

BJ: I’m honored that you like my stuff. You were part of kicking that off. You know, we should try to catch up and keep up.

KP: I’m in New York all the time. I know that you’re absolutely insanely busy.

BJ: Absolutely insane, and now I have this hot Italian lover-boyfriend. I don’t know, you gotta work it to get it right, so I’m working it.

KP: I can’t believe you’re still willing to work as hard as you’ve worked.

BJ: Just give me you, Amy Winehouse and Joan Jett, and I’m rocking again. So I’m back on track, and when it’s your work, and your shit to do, it’s really exciting. You never get tired of doing your true blue stuff. 

Katy, when did you first wear one of Betsey’s designs? 

KP: I’ve worn Betsey since I was 12 or 13.  I just found a vintage piece while out on the road on the Warped Tour and I’ve been wearing it forever. It never goes out of style. Betsey, my mom just went to your store in Greenwich Village, and she says she never understood why I was so in love with Betsey Johnson until now. She walked into the store and said, “If my daughter could have a line of clothing, it would be like this.” She said there were all these girls who were trying to look like Katy Perry. 

BJ: There’s nothing like being famous, right?

KP: It seems like every time I’m on tour, a girl will have a piece of jewelry that I’m drawn to, like a sparkle panda or tiger or eagle. And it’s always by Betsey Johnson.

Katy, can you remember the item of Betsey’s you had when you were 12 or 13, and what it looked like?

KP:It was a lime-green shirt, with raised polka dots.

BJ: Was it net-y and see-through?

KP:Yeah.

BJ: It took me about three years to get the company to let me make that shit. And it was the best stuff we had for like another three years. That was my favorite-favorite. I still have about five of those.

KP: It had a pink satin lining. I wore it for my first photo shoot. I still have it in a trunk at my house. When it comes down to it, Betsey, you’re not stuck up like all the other designers. You want to have fun still, and it really shows in your work.

BJ: You know the old tattoo print, the original old one? That is coming out in high-waisted hot pants, a zip-up motorcycle jacket, a skin-tight T-shirt-y dress with black snap tape, and a big trapeze dress. It’s like hard-rock Lolita. The two most inspiring chunks of time in my life as well as my work life have been 1960s rock ’n’ roll and 1980s punk. I just keep making that stuff. Do what you love, believe in it and go for it, you know? 

KP: And we both have big companies that we’re essentially running, and have to report to.

BJ: Oh, I know!

KP: At the end of the day, they hired us because we fight for our vision. And we know exactly who we are and what we want to do. I’m inspired by history books, and taking different times and meshing them together, and putting it on a confident girl who will rock it in her own way. Someone like Agyness Deyn, who’s an amazing model. She can put on any kind of outfit.

BJ: She really loves my stuff! I’m very happy you brought her up! Did you know that?

KP: I saw her wearing a dress of yours one night. It takes a confident female to bust out some of these looks. They’re strong and bold. 

BJ: My own little private Idaho of inspiration is that damn Sweeney Todd movie. I’m going very Goth, very kickin’ downtown, very Adam Ant, very pirate—Johnny Depp mixed with Victorian gorgeous stuff and pterodactyls.

KP: The ’40s have always been my biggest inspiration because I love the way that the women held themselves. Everything was very manicured. Sure, they had pencil skirts on and big sweaters, but underneath that pencil skirt and that sweater, you know that girl had a bullet bra, garter and stockings. She knew she was sexy, and she didn’t have to tell anybody. And that was, I think, so cool. I’m very into the Varga girls, and the pin-up girls, and those girls who are almost accidentally in trouble because the dog leash got wrapped around their skirt, and you can see a pink bow flashing outside their garters. 

BJ: You know, Katy, my next show is about school, like, “You can teach me a lesson with the ruler.” There’s that Goth kind of wicked school, and then there’s reform school, very Westwood punk, plaid, straps. And then there’s ‘baby school,’ where a huge segment is ticked off with exactly that whole pin-up, bullet bra, ’50s, angora-type sweater with a skin-tight skirt. I love that type of look. It’s about strong women, the posture.

KP: And they all had a secret. They all wore whatever they were wearing underneath, and it was always good.

BJ: It always works.

KP: I have all the time in the world to wear extravagant craziness, but when it comes down to it, it’s really easy for me to throw on an amazing dress, and then the kids are like, “Where’d you get it?” And I say, Betsey Johnson, and they know exactly what that is and they go to their store in their city and pick it up. It’s not too extravagant and it’s very reachable, and that’s important for me. My best pieces I bought when I was 13, 14 or 15. I may not wear those for a while, but I’ll break them out every few years and wear them. They exist in a great new light every single time.

You can still wear those 13-year-old’s clothes?

KP: Yeah, I grew boobies a long time ago.

Well, that says a lot about the wearability of Betsey’s clothes—they don’t fall apart after a few months. 

KP: Not mine. This isn’t some Forever 21 shit that they knock off.

BJ: It’s the same with your music, Katy. You want to listen to it, and really like your work 10 years from now. When it’s really you, there’s a timelessness about it, and you can’t fail with it.

Speaking of Katy’s music—Betsey, I know you have a hot Italian boyfriend but… have you ever kissed a girl?

BJ: I’ve had girls kiss me. I kissed Anna Nicole. She came to my rocker chick show at Irving Plaza. She was wearing one of those dotted net see-through things with roses on her bullet bra underneath. It was when she was doing TrimSpa, and she looked really beautiful.

To reference Katy’s lyrics, did you like kissing Anna Nicole?

KP: I’m sure she did.

BJ: It was very girlfriend, very posey-wosey. I’m just so straight-laced. The way I’ve kissed girls has been so girlfriend-y.

KP: It’s exactly girlfriend-y. It’s very slumber party, with masks on our face, very sleep-over. Girls are very sisterly and sweet together. I remember through elementary school and junior high, having best girlfriends, holding hands, planning everything in our lives around our best friendships. It’s something that was so important, and so a part of our upbringing. Girls are very curious, we’re just like, “I’m sure you taste like cherries, too. Give me that lipgloss!”

BJ: Katy, really great things are going to happen to you. Just stay happy and stay healthy. 

KP: I’m going to try and fend the boys off while wearing your dresses. It’s really hard. These are sex-magnet dresses.