When it comes to brand image, no one could accuse Betsey Johnson of being inconsistent. Unapologetically girly, the fashion designer is known for employing pink hues to decorate her products and fashion shows, and stayed true to form on Tuesday, with a press preview for her latest fragrance, Too Too. The beauty editors brunch at Milk Gallery flaunted the ballet-inspired scent amid pink and white furnishings, tables bedecked with tutu-style tulle skirts and arrangements of pink hydrangeas, and ballerinas.
Produced by Factory PR and retail display design firm Desan Productions, the two-hour morning event also played up Johnson's trademark sense of whimsy, supplying Little Cupcake Bakeshop's cupcakes frosted with pink buttercream and icing in the style of Johnson's logo, mimosas, and girly anthems spun by DJs Becka Diamond and Chelsea Layland.
Although plush velvet chairs, tufted daybeds, and cocktail tables with tutus littered the space and underscored the perfume's elaborate packaging, the producers also took advantage of the gallery's spare look to fashion a classic dance studio setting for the dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy—presented by the Russian American Foundation. Bare floors and a simple ballet barre set the scene in the venue's west windows for the leotard-clad dancers to stretch and pose, while the area in front of the north windows was left clear for the performance by a quartet from the Stephen Petronio Company.
And as with her shows and other events, the designer made an appearance with a certain amount of flair. Not only did the grandmother do the splits for the crowd, but playfully asked the guests to sing "Happy Birthday," in honor of her 69th birthday, which took place the following day.
