The atmosphere at Ulla Johnson’s showroom on an early December morning is “very full on.” The designer’s Madison Avenue boutique opened earlier this fall, and she’s just signed an international lease and agreed to her first concession at Galeries Lafayette. Plus, there’s a debut fragrance to be rolled out in Q2 next year, and a potential optical launch that’s in the discussion phase.
Johnson never slows down. It’s safe to say she’s no longer just the girl you go to for a boho dress. In fact, she reports, denim is her top-selling sell-through for both DTC and wholesale at the moment. “It’s exciting because it takes a long time to get traction in something like that, especially when you’re known for frocks. Which we still love. But we really wanted to balance something very ethereal with something that feels quite sturdy.”
Consider the juxtapositions in the first few images of this lookbook. In one, a model wears a suede tunic with suede flares, in complementary spicy colors. (Leather is a big performer at the new Madison Avenue shop, Johnson shares, but she prefers suede for its all-season versatility.) Up next: a dress of sheer mesh with fine embroidery decorating its bodice, the skirt a cascade of tulle, that is suede’s diaphanous, weightless polar opposite.
A pre-season collection has to cover a lot of bases because it lingers in stores and online longer than the main-season collections do. “Is it packable?” That’s one of Johnson’s non-negotiables, so she leans on jacquarded compact knits (note the shell motif) and a papery technical fabric with the airiness of taffeta for both dresses and matching sets. As ever, fabric development is what really gets Johnson’s heart pumping. Two of this season’s highlights are the subtle shibori prints in deep shades of indigo and a standout blurred floral ikat spot-coated with a foil treatment.
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