Betsey Johnson wants to retire

Designer Betsey Johnson has expressed that she wants to retire after her September show.

“I should be retired," said the designer at the launch party for By Invitation Only. "I’m basically screwing up because I’m not retired."

Johnson told The Cut blog that she wants to travel, and that she and her partner, Chantal Bacon, have been working on a succession plan for a year.

"My partner and I, we both want to know what would it be like to get up in the morning and go, ‘What do I do today?’” Johnson said.

So who will be taking over the brand?

Eric Sartori, who has previously designed for Vera Wang, Hervé Léger, and Azzedine Alaïa.

“He is the one,” she says. “He’s much better than I am. He just has to Betsey-fy himself."

But Johnson doesn't plan on giving up on the brand completely.

"I’ll be a megaconsultant. I’ll go in. I want to be like Ralph [Lauren]. Like, I always imagined the perfect life is like Ralph, where he goes in, and his wonderful expert crews show him work, and he goes, 'Love it, love it, love it, um, we’ll just put that aside for the moment, love it, love it, hmmm.' You know what I mean?" she said. "And be that — be the inspiration, the light at the end of the tunnel, the fairy godmother that comes down."