U.S. fashion designer Betsey Johnson receives Medal of Honor

Designer Betsey Johnson walks the runway at her 2009 Spring collection at New York Fashion Week September 9, 2008.

BEIJING, Oct. 15 -- American prominent fashion designer Betsey Johnson was awarded Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement by the National Arts Club.

She also attended a celebration for her held at the club in New York Tuesday, according to media reports Thursday.

In recognition of Johnson's outstanding contributions to fashion industry, National Arts Club also unveiled a painted portrait of her that will hang in the company of other portraits like Joyce Carol Oates and Carolina Herrera.

"I think she's a true American original, and you can't say that of too many people," said Marylou Luther, editor of the International Fashion Syndicate. "To me, she's the first American designer to have fun with fashion, and she made it enjoyable."

Johnson was at the forefront of sixties youthquake fashion, opening her first store, Betsey Bunki Nini, in New York in 1969. "She was the very first American designer to have her own store," said Luther.

Designer Betsey Johnson arrives at the 2009 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York June 15, 2009.

Johnson got her start in fashion as a guest editor at Mademoiselle, where Luther first met her. When Johnson began designing for Paraphernalia in the sixties, she was the ultimate downtown "it" girl: Married to John Cale of The Velvet Underground, she ran with the Andy Warhol crowd and used Edie Sedgwick as her model. She was the poster child for her brand as an active participant in the rock and roll party lifestyle that her clothes were synonymous with.

"The most interesting decade in fashion for change - really big change - was the sixties," said Luther. "It was the first time mothers started dressing like their daughters. Betsey was really at the forefront of that change."

A mini display, to show Johnson's 40 years in fashion, was set up in the National Arts Club featuring a representative dress from the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's and 2000's. Though it ranges from an innocent-looking red velvet and white collar number from the '60s to a punky sequined pink leopard print dress from the most recent decade, one thing all her clothes have in common is the emphasis on short and sassy.

"You might think of her as prom dresses and ruffles," said Luther, "but there was always kind of a naughty overtone that made her even more interesting."

Longtime business partner Chantal Bacon also addressed about working with Johnson, and Johnson's daughter and collaborator Lulu also came to cheer her mother on. But the biggest homage to Johnson's success was the abundance of women at the dinner dutifully outfitted in vintage Betsey Johnson.

A model presents a creation by designer Betsey Johnson during a fashion show celebrating Barbie's 50th anniversary during New York Fashion Week in New York, February 14, 2009.