Looks from Ulla Johnson Spring/Summer 2025.
Photo: Courtesy of Ulla Johnson
Creative Mind: Ulla Johnson
Beloved for bohemian-inspired garments that celebrate the maker’s hand, the New York City fashion designer focuses on timelessness, future heirlooms, and artful collaborations that deepen her label’s tactile appeal
Ulla Johnson wearing the Mural dress, featuring a pattern inspired by Lee Krasner's 1971 artwork Palingenesis, during the spring/summer 2025 runway show. Photo: Courtesy of Ulla Johnson
Since launching her business as a recent college graduate in 1998, Ulla Johnson has fiercely resisted fads and fast fashion, instead focusing on filling gaps in the market for “things made with beauty,” says the designer, whose bohemian-inspired garments are defined by feminine silhouettes and romantic ruffles.
Building blocks: The first Ulla Johnson boutique, a quaint NoHo, New York, store designed by Elizabeth Roberts Architects with the laid-back energy of a brownstone, opened in 2017. All eyes were on e-commerce then, but Johnson stuck to her belief in building a homelike space as a natural extension of her brand. Outposts soon followed in Amagansett, New York, also by Roberts, and Los Angeles, by Kelly Wearstler. Another Manhattan storefront is expected this year, as well as expansion into Europe and a foray into fragrance.
Ulla Johnson Spring/Summer 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Ulla Johnson
Creative collaboration: Johnson channeled her deep affinity for the energetic paintings of Lee Krasner, an unsung hero of Abstract Expressionism, into her spring/summer 2025 ready-to-wear collection. “Her foundation was very involved,” Johnson says of the process, which included working with “the finest Italian print house” to get the materials and colors right. “They wanted to make sure we honored Lee and elevated the language around the canvases.” For her fall collection, the designer is joining forces with sculptor Julie Hamisky, granddaughter of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: Looks from Ulla Johnson Spring/Summer 2025.
Photo: Courtesy of Ulla Johnson
