The Ulla Johnson Pre-Fall 2021 collection proposes a timeless luxury, a nod to Parisian codes of dress in the 70’s and American sportswear tailoring. Signature flou and gently cascading ruffles are set against body skimming silhouettes.

A sophisticated sex appeal is underlined by way of car wash paneling and pencil skirts, nipped waists, flared peplums, and plunging necklines. Volumes both starched and soft are harnessed by belts and ties that cinch the bodice. Themes of twisting, tying and wrapping suppress the waist while airy textiles are molded into pronounced, sculptural shoulders and full balloon sleeves.

The collection works in a natural, earthy elan with muted tones of navy, olive, bone, claret and umber. The palette possesses a cinematic, sepia-tinted quality, evoking a sun-kissed nostalgia. There is a play on dimensionality by way of layering and opacity, deepening the nuance of the collection.

Johnson puts forth a graphic and patchworked framework for complex layering opportunities. Prints and handloom spring from a Far East metissage—Indonesian batiks, craft techniques from Korea, and Japanese nature illustration are set against block prints and embroideries from India.

Johnson’s signature confluence of ease and precision tailoring is particularly resonant in the new season. With a language both confident and dynamic, she mixes myriad influences into a lustrous, polychromatic exploration of motif and form. As a woman designing foremost to honor and elevate other women through a language of beauty and connectedness, she offers a collection designed to transport and delight, to imbue confidence and playfulness into the everyday as we approach a brighter horizon together.