For the pre-fall season, designer Johanna Ortiz’s ready-to-wear continued to celebrate the natural curves of the human form and uphold the idea of versatile luxury through feminine, easy and elegant attire. She did so while celebrating her history as a designer, influenced by looking back to ideas and elements she was first inspired by at a young age, with the dreams of becoming a fashion designer.
“I went back a little bit to my first roots — when I decided I wanted to be a designer there was a trip to India. I traveled there when I was about to be 18 and graduate from school. I fell in love with all the colors, textures, spices and smells — everything was so inspiring, and it inspired me to be a fashion designer. That was one of the starting points — even in school, I was always searching for treasure fabrics,” Ortiz explained.
Furthermore, the designer approached her pre-fall collection differently than she has in the past. In lieu of sketching, Ortiz started with draping and knotting fabrics on the body.
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“It gave a nice, easy and effortless silhouette but also a different proposal for my evening and collection,” she said.
Melding her brand’s Latin American cultural heritage with subtle influences of the Indian saree, Ortiz debuted languid frocks and sets with unexpected small cutouts, “irregular shapes,” twisted, gathered and draped details and versatile, removable straps in a palette of grounding neutrals, earthy spiced hues and rich pops of fuchsia, lilac, jade and more. For instance, a selection of sleek dresses with knotted and twisted tie details featuring a blown out ikat print, or saree-inspired fluid skirts that could be removed to reveal fresh minidresses.
Dresses and separates felt equally fresh with Japanese-inspired florals, or with allover miniature Palm Tree embroidered stamp motifs. Ortiz tied the collection together with artisanal details — painstaking shell-adorned “jewel tops,” hand-embroidered necklaces and handcrafted leather tote bags with braided cords (woven by the Wichi indigenous community in Argentina) paired with softer knits.
Overall, the collection’s strength came from Ortiz’s continually keen eye to design, thoughtfully melding new and old influences into sophisticated, romantic and modern attire.