Betsey Johnson files for bankruptcy

(CBS News) Fashion designer Betsey Johnson's company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, following the declining sales at its retail stores, according to court documents.

"The economic recession had a devastating impact on higher-end fashion apparel brands, including Betsey Johnson Fashions," the company said in the filing, according to Reuters.

A person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal, the filing will see most of the chain's 63 stores close.

Betsey Johnson founded her label in 1978 and opened the brand's first retail store in the SoHo area of New York.

Johnson is known for sending brightly colored outfits down the runway and doing a cartwheel at the end of her show.

Though many of her retail stores are expected to close, her clothes can still be found in Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, reports the Wall Street Journal.