Designer Ulla Johnson brings bohemian elegance to New York Fashion Week

What fashion designer is “on fire” at Barneys New York? Ulla Johnson, known for a haute, handcrafted aesthetic.

Johnson launched her collection in 2000, but in recent seasons, it’s taken over more and more real estate on Barneys New York’s contemporary floor, alongside boho labels such as Isabel Marant and Iro.

“As a female designer, she understands how women want to dress,” says Tomoko Ogura, Barneys New York fashion director. “Although it’s bohemian in spirit, there’s an elegance to it.”

Kate Bosworth and Jennifer Lawrence are fans, and when Johnson held her first Los Angeles sample sale over the summer, actress Annabeth Gish and super stylist Jeanne Yang showed up to shop the racks.

FULL COVERAGE: New York Fashion Week 2015

What’s the appeal? Easy dresses, fringy knits and tasseled sandals that look as if they could be from an exotic, faraway market … or from Barneys, at prices that rarely creep above $800.

For spring 2016, Johnson was inspired by Americana by way of Japan.

“I was in Japan doing indigo research, and I actually fell in love with America again while I was there,” said the New York designer, the daughter of archaeologists who was a self-described global nomad through her childhood. “[The Japanese] have this amazing filter through which they curate American vintage and the tropes of Americana — denim, chambray, Navajo motifs — so it felt like coming home.”

That translated into feminine, geometric lace dresses in Georgia O’Keeffe-inspired blush or bone-white hues, ruffled denim pinafores and oversized embroidered chambray tunic dresses, hand-knotted macramé knits, blanket-patterned ponchos, soft suit jackets and flared pants.

“In this time when there is so much throwaway, I want to create heirlooms — something that feels like a find, a discovery, like it’s yours,” said Johnson, adding that she’s trying to control growth by not selling to too many stores. “People are responding to the idea that things that are beautiful take time. I don’t just want to bang it out.”

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