Betsey Johnson got fashion critics raising their eyebrows and feminists shaking their fists in the air with her surprising venture into bridal wear during her show at Fashion Week. The wedding dresses are usually shown towards the end of each designer’s show, and Betsey Johnson’s bridal collection was each more unusual than the last. Think fishnets, corsets, flouncy skirts, lace bodices topped off with bowler hats and bright colored wigs.

Betsy Johnson’s wedding dresses are filled with whimsy and imagination: some had teeny skirts covered in ruffles, others are more streamlined with stylized bodices. One of my favorite wedding gowns from the show was a gorgeous tulle confection that had a strapless bodice and flowers cascading down the back. All the models walked down the ramp with their hands cuffed at the back, which was what made her show particularly controversial. Was she simply being fun and experimental, or was Miss Johnson echoing radical feminist sentiments about marriages being a life of bondage to partiarchy? Either way, Betsey Johnson’s 2009 bridal collection is made up of one of the most unusual wedding dresses I’ve ever seen, containing the hippest, toughest, edgiest, and at the same time, decidedly feminine looks.

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