Laverne Cox was well prepared to honor Betsey Johnson at the 2025 ACE Awards in New York City on Tuesday with a playful ensemble by the designer accented by a pair of thigh-high stiletto boots.
Cox told WWD on the red carpet at the Pierre Hotel that she’s personally inspired by Johnson’s sense of whimsy. The two both love tutus, and Cox displayed this passion with a unique outfit featuring a black tutu underneath a structured black leather top; her sleeves and the back of her look, including her bustle skirt, featured a black and white newspaper print. She said of the ensemble, “What’s fun about it is that there’s something very streetwear-influenced about the fabric and the print, but the bustle gives it something that’s Edwardian, something that’s from a different era.”
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“I grew up studying classical ballet, and so I grew up loving tutus and just being obsessed with them,” she said. “And when I started dressing myself and going to thrift stores, I was rocking a lot of tutus, and then I discovered Betsey and that’s a staple in her oeuvre. And the sense of whimsy and color and just being unconventional and not following trends, just knowing who you are.”
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At the event honoring achievements in the accessories industry, Cox certainly did not skimp when it came time to accent her clothing. Continuing to honor Johnson, she carried a bedazzled phone purse.
“I always like designers who you have to be a certain kind of person to wear the designer. You have to have a personality to bring to the clothes. You have to have the right energy for the clothes. And that’s Betsey Johnson, and she’s been so innovative — this purse is insane, this purse actually works as a phone,” Cox said, showing off the sparkling accessory. “So it’s not just fashion, it’s function, which we live for.”
As for her shoes, Cox modeled a pair of thigh-thigh black leather boots. The shoes featured a close-fitting slightly slouchy shaft in addition to a sharply pointed toe and slender stiletto heel. Cox appreciates a bold heel moment, whether it’s reptilian-embossed silver pumps or Mugler’s Fang mule, a style she’s reached for on several occasions.
Cox also said of Johnson on the carpet, “She’s just so New York. It’s interesting, I think about when she emerged in the 1960s, Norma Kamali was also working. And she was also this designer who did her own thing, but also designed for people to go to parties. Everybody was going to Studio 54, she was sewing their clothes. And so Betsey wears clothes that you can wear everyday but also clothes that you can go out in and have fun and party and celebrate. So it’s about a celebration. It’s just an exuberance for life.”
Find more looks from the 2025 ACE Awards below.