Direct from the Runway: Betsey Johnson Fall 2011

Every season, I just know I'll be blown away by the look at Betsey Johnson. And, true to form, Fall 2011 did not disappoint! I always love seeing what amazing creations manicurist Nonie Creme of butter LONDON and hairstylist Peter Gray (working this time with Redken) come up with, and this season was no exception.

Nonie Creme created a cusom mix for Betsey this season, with the working title right now of Wallis (inspired by the Duchess of Windsor). "Betsey's girl is getting really vampy, really high fashion," Nonie told me backstage. "We wanted to do a nail that exuded almost an austerity." Nonie went for a dark nail that wasn't "your traditional kind of tired old burgundy" -- a gorgeous olive greenish gold. "It's like a piece of metal left out in the rain for 10 years," she said. "It's kind of a high fashion nail!"

Hairstylist Peter Gray always comes up with an amazing concept for the hair, and this season he was inspired by Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. To create the look, he cut black wigs into a sharp, angled bob that dropped down slightly in the front and included a blunt fringe across the brow. "I've done so much hairdressing in all the shows that I sort of lost my roots," he told me. "I started at Sassoon, so I thought it would be nice to come back to it." But of course, the look didn't stop there. Peter then laid a piece of lace over the top and sprayed the bob in gold -- totally gorgeous, totally exotic, totally Betsey! "It's always bonkers, it's always about as unpredictable as you can get," Peter said. "There's loads of freedom!"