Shopping for a Bra With Betsey Johnson

Dave Sanders for The New York Times Betsey Johnson trying on a bra over her shirt at a Victoria’s Secret.

“How do I look with breasts?” asked Betsey Johnson, holding a push-up bra clasped over her shirt in a Victoria’s Secret showroom. I took several photos in quick succession, suspecting that it would not be long before security asked me to stop.

Discretion, when shopping for lingerie with Ms. Johnson, seemed futile.

“Hello, what are we doing?” an employee asked. I tried to explain who we were and how we were shooting for an article on Ms. Johnson. I mentioned how Ms. Johnson had helped start the career of the model pictured on a nearby table. Ms. Johnson tried to play down her ascribed status.

“I know who you are,” he replied. “Please wait a moment.” He then disappeared into the back of the store. We guessed he was requesting permission for us to continue shooting, but we never found out. Ms. Johnson bought the bra she had tried on, and we ran out in front of traffic to an idling Chevrolet Tahoe that was double-parked across the street.

Once inside the vehicle, Ms. Johnson reapplied her pink lipstick and gave the driver directions to her Upper East Side apartment. “You’ve been wonderful,” she said to him as she climbed out, holding a Dixie cup filled with champagne. “I’m going to give you an excellent rating on Uber.”

Earlier in the day, I arrived Ms. Johnson’s studio on West 37th Street, where agency models were lined up for a casting call for Ms. Johnson’s coming Fashion Week shows. “Hi!” she’d exclaimed, giving me a big hug. Then a pause. “Do we know each other?” she asked.

Dave Sanders for The New York Times Ms. Johnson overseeing a go-see at her studio in Manhattan.

As the models walked down an imaginary runway past racks of multicolor dresses, Ms. Johnson watched from the back of the room, occasionally leaping from her chair to demonstrate the proper walk. “Yes! That’s it!” she shouted, throwing her arms in the air whenever she saw a model she liked.

During a moment of downtime, two of her assistants explained the concept of a selfie to Ms. Johnson, who is 71. They offered technical guidance as she raised a foot clad in a ruby red shoe to her right ear and smiled. Across the room an assistant looked through crates and boxes to put together a referee costume for Ms. Johnson that would be posted on Instagram pegged to the Super Bowl. Ms. Johnson grabbed a whistle and two puffy dresses for pom-poms and dropped to a split.

Dave Sanders for The New York Times Ms. Johnson striking a pose for a Super Bowl-themed Instagram photograph.

We ran for the door heading to the vehicle waiting downstairs. Before we could get out of the room, two models entered, arriving almost 20 minutes after the go-see had ended. “Are we too late?” asked one. “No!” shouted Ms. Johnson, throwing her bags on the floor. “Let me see you walk!”