ULLA JOHNSON FALL WINTER 2019 SHOW

For Fall 2019, Ulla Johnson offers a wildly colorful and opulent celebration of pattern and form, telling a story of emboldened and poetic femininity. Myriad influences are brought into harmonious dialogue. Tribal motifs and color juxtapositions are seen in vividly graphic intarsia and layered stripes and patterns. Hand loomed fabrics developed with Indian weavers are lavishly embroidered with cascading sequins and trimmed in a delicate hand crochet that evokes Johnson’s Eastern European heritage. Diaphanous silks and crisp poplins are printed with hand drawn batiks featuring climbing florals and tropical birds, seen in eye popping colors contrasted with earth tones of slate blue, umber, cork, alabaster, and kohl.

With an irreverent touch, Johnson explores and charts new territories - animal patterns are cast in ikat denim and knitted into acid bright jacquards. An abstracted woven floral is spotted with lurex and seen in reversible puffers and a rich fuchsia and chartreuse cloqué, formed into sculptural frocks and exaggerated shoulders. Yarns receive lavish attention, as delicate metallic lace is richly embroidered with cream and avocado wool and cast in voluminous sleeves and floor skimming gowns. A custom silk velvet devore, woven with shimmering metallics, is gathered into delicate necklines, draped sleeves, and languid disco inspired frocks. A brilliantly gilded floral in blown up scale is screened onto black and sunflower taffeta featuring tiered volumes, peaked shoulders, and abbreviated lengths.

Alpaca in manifold weights and shades is hand crocheted into a lush eclectic patchwork, seen in nipped waist pullovers and gossamer skirts. Knitwear becomes structural, as boiled and double-faced wool are molded into new volumes. Pants are cinched high on the waist and pegged at the cuff, realizing a new, more generous proportion. Supple lambskins are crafted into high necked dresses and jackets trimmed with quirky oversized tassels and crochet lace for a charmingly offbeat effect. Outerwear is bold and luxurious, featuring hand crocheted patchwork shearling, Italian tweed, and a graphic blanket stripe seen in oversized topcoats.
Accessories are focal and in close dialogue with the ready to wear - soaring boots and cylindrical heels are patchworked in shades of antique rose and mixed leopard. Pointed mules and open toe sling backs are finished with hand whip-stitching and molded ruffles. Carved rings in reclaimed horn and bone are handmade by master craftsman in Nairobi, Kenya at family owned artisan workshops that craft entirely with sustainable, natural material. Italian marbled resin is hand stitched into bucket carryalls and crossbody shapes, while croc embossed leather is finished with rope macramé detailing in elevated totes and belt bags.
Throughout, Johnson elaborates on her uniquely free-spirited vision of dress, a vision that conjures beauty and strength through method and meaning.

ULLA JOHNSON S/S 2019 SHOW

For Spring 2019, Ulla Johnson stitches together a multihued tapestry of pattern and form. The collection conjures a vibrant and bold vision of a world that is tight-knit and inclusive, where boundaries are collapsed, creating a visual métissage. Taking her cues from the reimagined Victoriana worn by the women of the Herero people of Namibia, and the abstract genius of the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Johnson explores the way in which women have used the visual language of craft and color to create symbolic meaning.

Pushing her signature engagement with skilled craftswomen to new heights, Johnson worked with artisans the world over to create garments lavished with time and attention. Fully beaded pinafores and wrapped tops and skirts were created with Maasai women in Nairobi. Crocheted garments featuring bold stripes and spliced square motifs were handknit in Peru, while mixed indigo patterns and trailing florals were hand stitched and intricately sequined in India. A pulled thread embroidery, hundreds of hours in the making, is molded into corseted gowns and open work skirts that capture Johnson’s distinctive confluence of tailoring and ease.

Working in an earthy palette of clay and sunflower, shot through with bright pink and cobalt, Johnson explores twisted and tied silhouettes, starched ruffles, and exaggerated volumes. Mixed batik prints are tied together for graphic effect, folk embroideries from her native Balkans are laid over shibori dots and stripes, while organza is pigment dyed and hand pleated into new proportions. Strips of raffia are embroidered and woven together with grosgrain and sculpted into full skirts and bodices that crisscross and hew closely to the body. Metallics come to the fore as rose gold lace is crafted into gowns short and long featuring rows of frothy frills, lurex yarns are knitted into sculptural essentials, and a floral jacquard cast in silver and gold dances across ethereal silks and delicate lamé.

Accessories are focal this season and continue the cultural dialogue spoken in the ready to wear. Inspired by Samurai armor, soaring heels and delicate flats are built of braided multicolor leathers finished with oversize knots and patterned cross stitching. Metallic ropes are woven together into caged stiletto and babouche shapes, as multicolored hand beaded straps made in Kenya are wrapped and layered around the foot and ankle to maximalist effect. The bag range elaborates on the dialogue around craft, as macramé is twisted into striped totes large and small. Painted beads are strung together into squared volumes and finished with raffia braided handles, and canvas is sandwashed or printed and trimmed with leather details and whimsical two-tone pompoms.

With the new season, Ulla Johnson offers a bold visual landscape, a celebration of craft and the dream of a future freed from enforced boundaries.