Review of Ulla Johnson Fall 2023 Fashion Show
Romantic Full Sleeves, Ruffles and Glazed Leather
By Constance C.R. White
Every theater professional knows that the wrong set can spoil an otherwise great play, and the right set can enhance a production. Against a magnificent backdrop afforded by the view from the 65th floor of the magnificent new Spiral building at 66 Hudson Boulevard East, Ulla Johnson showed off her signature love of period fashion updated with a modern-esque approach.
Models took off down the runway to the live sounds of Black Belt Eagle Scout – a welcome balm on a Sunday of shows that will stretch past the Superbowl game. (Although, to be fair – not everyone cares. Yesterday, a stylist drew his friend’s ire when he asked: Who are the Eagles again? What color do they wear?”)
There’s the collection and then there’s the show. Ulla Johnson had both.
Heavy on romance, Johnson’s collection (which included quite a bit of green – the Eagle’s color) dived deep into fabric surfaces. A one-shoulder dress with a burst of ruffles shimmered in green brocade. A delicious wine jacket with a drawstring waist was polished in leather glaze and sat atop an accordion-pleated skirt in a blown-up flower print. The model clutched a little yellow handbag.
Knits were some of the most fetching around. The fuzzy caterpillar sweaters included a bralet. In a soberer bent, a crochet dress and a turtleneck recalled the geometric patterns and dense colors of the Native American Aztecs. Johnson used plenty of earthy browns and beiges, a palette she returned to throughout.
By now, Johnson is adept at making crafty stuff urban and wearable. Crochet dresses and tops had plenty of oomph and were a way to play with exposing some skin while remaining true to the collection’s Victoriana vibe. There was an abundance of high necklines, ballooning sleeves and ruffles, and more ruffles. So balance was important. One black top with hanging strings under a black leather jacket underlined her facility for making the artisanal less homey.
The crochet and macrame are made in Madagascar, and Johnson, working with artisans from Kenya, accessorized the clothes with dangling earrings and other jewelry from the East African nation. With such a strong collection, attention to the detail of the presentation supercharged its impact.
The set pulled together the collection’s two disparate elements – mother earth and urban curation. Suggesting hard-edged driven technology, panoramic skyscraper views of New York City were nothing short of jaw-dropping. The feel was heightened by the silvery mirrors placed by stage designer Andrew Ondrejcak, on the pillars surrounding the windows. Ondrejcak has created the sets for several of Johnson’s shows. “It needed to feel a little bit lighter and have something that lifted it,” he said of the imposing space.
The capstone was the 180-feet long patterned carpet which comprised the L-shaped runway and had shades of brown, beige, cream, and yellow from the collection. Custom-made in Morocco, Ondrejcak collaborated with rug designer Trish Andersen on the design and logistics of getting a runway-size rug ready for New York Fashion Week. “We started working on it in December, and it was a rush,” said Ondrejcak.
Andersen, a fiber artist who runs Trish Andersen Studio, gathered with Ondrejcak after the show for an impromptu celebration with Savannah College of Art and Design founder and president Paula Wallace, who was in town for the show. Both Ondrejcak and Anderson, who were wearing multicolor fringe slippers that appeared to be made from carpet fibers, attended SCAD.