Betsey Johnson Does Opera

Betsey Johnson: Juliette, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette

… well, on her sketchpad she does, and it’s a wide-eyed, leggy, jean-clad, midriff-baring Juliette from the opera Roméo et Juliette. Johnson and a group of other fashion elite agreed to embark upon a truly delectable flight of fashion fancy--to reinterpret the classic-opera character of their choice. The results, which have all been generously donated for a most worthy cause—The New York City Opera--will be auctioned, tomorrow, Thursday May 20th, at the annual DIVAS Shop for Opera benefit event.

Organized by the New York City Opera Thrift Shop (declared NYC’s best thrift shop by Vogue magazine), the Divas Shop for Opera is one of the city’s most anticipated shopping events by fashionistas everywhere.

Visit ‘Soul Stylist’ Lori Sutherland’s blog for details of some of the incredible vintage and designer deals to expect. This is serious stuff—Pauline Trigere, Zandra Rhodes and Issey Miyake, to name a few—at stunningly low (cue for diva to faint) prices.

Here are a handful of about two-dozen designer “reinterpretations” to be on view and auctioned at the event. I’m not sure if it is sold out yet, but you can check here for tix.

threeASFOUR: Queen of the Night, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte

Christian Lacroix: Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur

Victoria Bartlett: Puccini’s Turandot

Narciso Rodriguez: Cio-Cio San, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly

Austin Scarlett: Poppea, Monteverdi’s
L’incoronazione di Poppea

Jason Wu: Verdi’s Aida

Behnaz Sarafpour: Puccini’s Tosca

Illustrations: Courtesy of the designers/NYC Opera via Style File