Debbie Harry Reveals the Fate of Her Playboy Bunny Outfit Backstage at Betsey Johnson

Debbie Harry was a brunette bunny. Photo: AFP/Getty.

Fashion emergency! Rumors flew backstage that Betsey Johnson, 73, was staging her last runway show ever. 

“But I always say that,” Johnson winked backstage, and she’s got a point: since her eponymous label debuted in 1978, the designer has sworn more than once that her infamous catwalk cartwheels are over—even though they’ve transformed the New York fashion scene for 50 years.

“I met her in the ‘60s,” said Debbie Harry, who has a piece in the collection named after her. (It’s a black-and-white catsuit, worn by a model who flipped off the audience as she strutted down the catwalk.)

“She was introduced to me by John [Cale, Johnson’s former husband who played in The Velvet Underground] and Andy [Warhol], I believe. And right away, I realized she was brilliant, and it seems I was right, because here we are. Betsey helped create the New York fashion scene, and she is a genius. I’m proud to own her clothes, aren’t you?” Yes, but we also want to own Harry’s uniform from her days as a Playboy Bunny. “I don’t even own that,” Harry shrugged. “When I left the Playboy Club, they made us turn in our corset, our ears, everything. I knew a few girls who smuggled them out, but I’m not in touch with them anymore. Why? You need a Bunny outfit?” Maybe. “Well, you’re out of luck,” Harry smiled, “but ask Betsey to make you one.”

We could—or we could just take the runway offerings, which spanned five decades of Johnson’s work: mod mini-dresses from her Ciao Manhattan! costumes, '70s patchwork flares from Studio 54 (where she once held a fashion show), and rainbow-colored prom dresses that—let’s face it—we all owned in the '90s.

Then there was the grand finale, where models wearing leotards danced gamely down the catwalk, and Johnson handed flowers to Ann Pimm, her childhood dance teacher. “Betsey was always exceptionally talented,” said the 92-year-old, who was a Broadway chorus girl in the '40s and '50s. “She would come to class the same way she is on the runway, full of energy and always smiling. And she was always very determined.”

But did she follow her dance school’s dress code? “Well… no,” Pimm laughed. “From what I can remember, she didn’t like wearing plain leotards and tights. But look where it’s gotten her!”

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