Ulla Johnson Unveils a Madison Avenue Boutique Steeped in Craft and Personal History
Returning to the neighborhood where she grew up, the Galerie Creative Mind designer enlists Studio Valle de Valle to devise an intimate storefront layered with treasured objects and trompe l’oeil touches
Ulla Johnson’s new Madison Avenue boutique unfolds like a portrait. The 2,000-square-foot storefront is layered with objects the Galerie Creative Mind designer has gathered over decades, from a bronze sculpture by artist Alma Allen to a vintage Fratelli Marelli mirror, each gesture grounding the shop in a richly personal atmosphere. “Having grown up on the Upper East Side,” says Johnson, who launched her namesake label in 1999, “our new boutique represents not just an important moment for the brand, but also a true homecoming.”
Known for garments defined by romantic silhouettes, her dedication to artisanal craftsmanship, and collaborations with the estates of painters Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler, Johnson has worked carefully to translate her ethos into retail environments that feel equally as free-spirited and artful. The NoHo flagship, opened in 2017 with Elizabeth Roberts Architects, captured that ambition with the intimacy of a brownstone. Her Amagansett and Los Angeles outposts, created with Kelly Wearstler, expanded her vocabulary while reinforcing its tactile sensibility. Madison Avenue, however, called for something different.
To bring that vision to life, Johnson turned to Giancarlo Valle and Jane Keltner de Valle, the husband-and-wife designers behind downtown firm Studio Valle de Valle. “We were channeling this idea of ‘Ulla goes uptown.’ She’s a native New Yorker. She grew up on the Upper East Side. This boutique is a homecoming and coming of age in many ways. It really speaks to the evolution of her brand and what she’s built,” explains Keltner de Valle. Context was a natural starting point. The team studied the neighborhood’s traditions, especially trompe l’oeil, a device perfected by Italian architect Renzo Mongiardino in the nearby Carlyle Hotel’s lobby bar and the townhouses he conceived for Estée Lauder, Drue Heinz, and Robert Miller. “We created an enfilade with these thickened portals and exaggerated archways—trompe l’oeil on top and real stone underfoot,” Keltner de Valle continues. Such flourishes imbue the architecture and surface treatments with a sense of understated grandeur, evoking history even in a structure without the provenance to match.
Throughout, the label’s devotion to craftsmanship is evident. Artisans shaped practically every finish and furnishing: Verrier Paris created passementerie, Gracie New York gilded the boudoir ceiling with gold leaf wallpaper, and bespoke furniture—including a double-sided sofa by Studio Valle de Valle upholstered in Le Manach fabric—anchors each room. Johnson embellished the artful constellation with last-minute inclusions from her archive. “Many of the objects I’ve collected over the years, like the Fratelli mirror I picked up at Paul Bert Flea in Paris,” she says. “Just before opening our doors, we added a vintage monk’s chair and an Ingo Maurer light in the window, both last-minute pulls from my personal archive, that feel completely at home.” To wit: In the front window, a bulbous Kazunori Hamana vase brims with Fox Fodder Flowers.
The boutique embodies Johnson’s universe of considered detail, which extends beyond the vivid garments synonymous with her name. “Our world is not just about the clothes themselves,” she reflects, “but about the story, the process, the travel, the lifestyle, the heart. We approached many design decisions with a residential mindset and celebrated the artisanal collaborators with every detail. We worked closely with artisans on exacting everything down to the level of wax, mica, and pearl in the finish that results in a luminous glow that shifts throughout the day.”
Such an atmosphere inherently invites discovery, where even the subtlest details captivate and objects carry unique stories yet never overpower the clothing. Johnson captures the essence simply: “There’s a warmth,” she says—an observation affirming her conviction that beauty belongs in both clothing and the environments that hold it.