Los Angeles-based Jeffrey Campbell footwear brand reimagines the style of Betty Page in collaboration with her estate in a limited edition capsule collection of apparel and footwear. The collection celebrates the fact that she styled herself, creative-directed her image, designed her own swimsuits and lingerie, and commissioned custom black leather heels that became part of her visual signature.
For the collaboration with the Bettie Page estate, Jeffrey Campbell was granted exclusive access to vintage photographs and pieces from her archive. In press about the collection Page’s longtime agent Mark Roesler who approched the brand about the collaboration shares, “She took great pride in designing everything; it was part of the modelling and really important to her. If she was alive today she would love the collection.”
Jeffrey Campbell is not known for frequent collaborations, which made this one personal. “As a long-time fan, with countless coveted books and photographs that I’ve sourced from vintage fleas, it was surreal to touch her personal fetish heels. There were all these nuanced details that I’d never noticed in images before. It felt like I was putting a real person to the myth that is Bettie Page,” says creative director Brigitte Campbell.
The pumps, platforms, and sky-high heels are built from Page’s actual measurements and vintage references. Pink soles nod to her soft feminine power. The dramatic height mirrors her most iconic pin-up poses. The collection expands into apparel, handmade in her spirit. A lace-up leather dress pulls from her fetish wear shoots. The bullet bra stays true to the silhouette that defined her era and remains inseparable from her image.
Each style is hand-numbered, produced in runs of 30 to 60 pieces while the logo is drawn from her personal signature. “We’ve always been the kind of brand that, like Bettie, would rather be loved by few than liked by many,” says Campbell, “and as a predominantly women-led company of less than 20 people, we would not have the liberties and freedoms of today without women like her.”
The Betty Page x Jeffrey Campbell capsule collection launches on March 12, on Jeffreycampbellshoes.com.
