Suzanne Johnson, the wife of Jets owner Woody Johnson, is perched on the arm of a canopy chair in Bergdorf Goodman’s fashionable lunchtime spot, BG.
She’s flanked by two statuesque society pals — philanthropist Somers Farkas and interior designer Joanne de Guardiola — and the trio ooh and aah over de Guardiola’s golden yellow Birkin bag.
“This is my happy place,” says Johnson.
After lunch, the vivacious blonde ventures to the Rockefeller Center office of her hubby, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, toting a taupe Hermès bag that “goes with everything — especially Jets green,” she notes.
Despite her made-for-TV looks, razor-sharp cheekbones and luxurious wardrobe, Johnson is anything but a trophy wife.
As the new ambassador and spokeswoman for NFL women’s apparel, she’s bringing high style — and her formidable celebrity contacts — to the rough-and-tumble world of football.
“Football is [Woody’s] thing, and fashion is my thing,” says Johnson, who gave up a successful, fast-paced Wall Street career to marry and raise two children with Woody. (Jack is 3 and Robert Wood V, a k a “Brick,” is 6.)
As one of her first orders of business, Johnson, who’s in her 40s, aimed high and landed an unlikely collaboration with one of the most exclusive red-carpet fashion houses: Marchesa.
“When I was working on Wall Street, I had girlfriends in all parts of the industry — fashion, p.r., etc. — and at one point, I had met Harvey Weinstein, who is such a huge football fan. Of course, I follow [his wife] Georgina [Chapman]’s fashion, so I called him up and took a meeting. I said, ‘Why don’t we do a one-off specialty shirt and see how that goes off?’ ”
The fashion Hail Mary worked, and Chapman signed on. The highly anticipated shirt will be unveiled after the NFL’s kickoff on Sept. 5.
It was a matchup that sent the fashion blogosphere into a tizzy.
“Now here’s a collaboration we didn’t see coming: Marchesa’s Georgina Chapman is designing a limited-edition shirt for . . . the NFL. Say what?” wrote style site Fashionista.com.
It’s been a wild ride for Johnson, too. The league tried to involve her three years earlier when it kicked off the campaign to ditch oversize jerseys and patronizing pink T-shirts for female fans in favor of high-end handbags, fitted jerseys and even a line of nail polishes in team colors.
“I said I couldn’t do it. I just had a baby. So the next year, they asked me again, and Woody said, ‘Go ahead. You’ve had babies, so go out there and be your own person again.’ ”
She took part in last year’s “Rivals” ad campaign— posing with Gwen Reese, the wife of Giants general manager Jerry Reese—and was so energized that she convinced her girlfriends Grace De Niro, Muffy Potter Aston and Farkas to eschew their Bergdorf finery in favor of Jets jerseys at last September’s Badgley Mischka show during Fashion Week.
“That was a huge hit,” says Johnson.
Photographers had a feeding frenzy, and the media took notice.
“I realized that football is front and center in New York for women.It just took one person to light the candle, and it took off,” says Johnson.
That hasn’t been lost on the NFL.
“Suzanne has brought an incredible energy and creativity to this campaign that has taken us to new heights,” says Tracey Bleczinksi, the NFL’s vice president of consumer products.
“Her ability to understand our fans, her sense of style and, of course, her passion for the green and white is unparalleled and invaluable.”
Now Johnson’s joining strong women such as Serena Williams and football fanatic Condoleezza Rice in the NFL’s third annual women’s apparel campaign. This season, she’s posing with pal Melania Trump, who Johnson says follows football quite closely, coming to games at MetLife Stadium and sending her postgame e-mails.
“I swear to you, [Melania will] say if it was a good game or if Mark [Sanchez] had a good throw.”
With a buzzy partnership with Marchesa under her belt, Johnson has her eyes set on label Theory, which is owned by her neighbor, Andrew Rosen.
“Girls across the country wear Theory,” says Johnson. “Poor Andrew is going to die because he’s going to be getting a phone call from me.”
And she hopes to enlist Mila Kunis for next year’s ad campaign.
“She’s a poised actress, she’s beautiful and she carries herself in an elegant way. Plus, she’s dating Ashton Kutcher, and he’s a huge Chicago Bears fan,” she says.
Her work is proving to be a natural fit for the Cornell-educated New York native, who met her husband through a publicist friend eight years ago.
“My friend said, ‘You know, Woody Johnson is single. You should meet him. I’m going to tell him to call you.’ Two days later, he called me, and we went to the date place of choice for girls—Raoul’s in SoHo,” recalls Johnson.
“He had just gotten his BlackBerry, and I, being the professional on Wall Street, had one for four months. I was kind of teaching him about it, and from then it was history.”
The pair wed in 2009. It was a second marriage for Woody, who in 2001 divorced model Sale Johnson, with whom he has three daughters, including the late Casey Johnson.
During the season, Suzanne Johnson will cultivate even more relationships with high-powered boldfacers by hosting them in the owner’s box at MetLife Stadium.
“Typically, when we have a home game, we have about 100 people to the box. We try to create an interesting mixture, so that you’re kind of melding all three worlds—business, family and celebrities,” she says.
Past guests include everyone from Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler and Philip Seymour Hoffman to NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly, newswoman Rosanna Scotto and presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Johnson readily admits that the Birkin count at the stadium goes from zero to at least six when she and her girlfriends are there.
“These girls really love football, but it’s also another fashion opportunity for them,” she says.
As for her team’s 2012 debut on Sept. 9, her outfit of choice will be a game-day decision.
“I have one of those Bed Bath & Beyond racks, and I start styling my clothes. My husband is like, ‘What are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘Don’t worry. I’m getting myself focused. I’m doing my pregame warm-up now.’ ”
kirsten.fleming@nypost.com