“It’s almost 25 years now that I’ve been in business, and with each new horrifying crisis in the world I have to just commit myself anew to the things that I care about,” Ulla Johnson declared. “Things like strength and softness, making women feel beautiful and powerful, celebrating color, celebrating craft, celebrating incredible fabrications.”
Johnson is embarking on a big year, launching a beauty line and opening her first store outside the US, in London. As if to meet the moment, she assembled a true potpourri of a collection, dabbling in everything from dressed-up denim at one end to boudoir-ish slips and tap pants in absinthe and black at the other, plus ’70s-inflected pantsuits and party frocks boasting feather embellishments in between. The artist collaborations that typically provide her with her lively prints were restricted to an original written text for her program notes by the author Susan Orlean.
With all the variety, it didn’t hold together as well as a collection as Johnson’s previous outings have, and styling details like opera gloves and knee socks seemed to be working at cross purposes. She was at her best with the bohemian dresses she’s long been known for, be it a multicolor knit with a fringed hem or a black number with metallic fil coupé flowers.
