NEW YORK, Sep 13, 1999/ – Betsey Johnson has always liked things a little topsy-turvey, so for her Spring/Summer presentation Monday, she did her cartwheels down the runway to start the show - rather than finish it, as she normally does.

On top of that, she junked her models and turned the collection over to 61 of her best friends and colleagues.

They were tall, short, fat and thin; over 50 and under 20; some with showgirl cleavage others with chests as flat as Twiggy's.

A few were shy and others went into overdrive posing, pouting, and playing up to the cameras.

The show was staged in Betsey's Seventh Avenue, 'hippie heaven' showroom, painted bright yellow and pink and draped with fringed shawls.

On each chair sat a colored bead bracelet with alphabet-beads spelling out Betsey's Year 2K slogan "GIRLS".

Not only did Betsey's "real girls" model the collection, they also styled it for themselves.

Making their star turns were Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's wife and daughter, Teresa and Chelsea, with Teresa's identical twin sister, Lisa Barric.

All three wore sherbet-colored crochet and silk.

Tyler clapped and cheered as the family walked by, his multiple wrist ornaments creating a percussive counterpoint to the good times rock 'n' roll soundtrack.

Former model Verushka did a turn, with her famous lioness-eyes striped with sea-blue shadow.

She wore the outfit of her character "Koschka" from her new film, "Budda-Bum" - a lemon silk flowered slip with a green ruffled skirt under a gold net peignoir-coat.

"It was wild, it was brave," said Betsey. "I wanted to move away from dressing models like me. But was it too risky?"

Au contraire. The concept gave Betsey Johnson's clothes a different slant, an honesty and a freer interpretation that, ok, sometimes wasn't quite as funky as the Queen "B" herself might have worn them.

But it was real. And it made you realize that you don't have to be a waif-like 16-year-old with bosoms and butt to die for, to actually wear them.

Stand-out looks included a blue and white cotton calico "Little House on the Prairie" corset and a long, dirndl skirt; a lilac fake fur vest with red gypsy skirt; a gold-embroidered saris worn as sarongs and skirts; and a tie-dye, hip-slung, drawstring pants.

Hilary Alexander is the fashion editor of the Daily Telegraph, UK.

Betsey Johnson Fashion

Betsey Johnson Fashion

Betsey Johnson Fashion

Steven Tyler with Betsey Johnson