FASHIONINSIDER
Thoroughly New York-based fashion designer Ulla Johnson tells us about the influence of travel on her vision – and her plans to open a store across the pond
The curated shelving spanning the entire length of Ulla Johnson’s Manhattan office wall is captivating. “Oh my goodness, I built all this before we lived in a time of Zoom, but now it comes in handy,” she says, turning around and admiring her backdrop.
Jam-packed with ceramics, books and objet d’art, it provides a fascinating window into the world of the designer, whose love of art, literature and travel continues to influence her globally informed collections. But despite travelling extensively and continually employing the skills of artisans from around the world, Ulla’s fashion shows are purely New York-centric.
Since the pandemic, which she’d rather not mention but does so for context, she’s felt an increasing need to embrace the city. “I’ve taken it upon myself to champion New York and its cultural centres,” she explains.
“I’m from New York and have such an affinity for the city and guess in times of turbulence and difficulties we either love or hate where we are – and I did end up feeling a renewed commitment to New York.”
The brand’s most recent show, SS24, took place two weeks before we speak. It was presented at Powerhouse Arts, the former Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company’s central power station, which, after being used as a squat for years, was renovated by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron,
who sympathetically preserved a lot of the building’s original interior features.
Ulla commissioned artist and friend Andrew Ondrejcak to transform the urban space with a set consisting of large raffia garlands that she had sourced during a recent trip to Mallorca. “I bought this tiny curtain for my house in Montauk and then we were like: ‘Can you actually make 35,000 metres of this for us?’ It was a week before Spain closed for the holidays, but they did it. That was amazing.”
Powerhouse Arts is a non-profit organisation committed to creative expression and it often collaborates with artists, which felt fitting.
“I think we’ve really become known for having this robust dialogue with cultural institutions and the arts,” she explains. For example, artist Shara Hughes lent her 2021 sunset painting titled Tuck for the finale look.
“I think the Ulla Johnson woman is very joyful and. in a way, I think this collection really spoke to that. There was a lot of vibrant colours, really strong silhouettes and a lot of b
