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. 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.