Elements of Lee Krasner’s 1970 Comet painting were printed on the panels that formed the centerpiece at Ulla Johnson’s show. The designer worked with the estate of the late artist for two years to secure permission to use it and two other pieces, Portrait in Green and Palingenesis, as prints in her new spring collection.
Johnson feels an affinity for Krasner. They’re both New Yorkers, both children of immigrants, and both mad for flowers and nature. “She talked about wanting her work to breathe and live. That spoke to me so much,” Johnson explained. “Women walk these clothes into life; it’s not a garment, it becomes part of the wearer.” In the show notes, Mary Gabriel, author of Ninth Street Women, a book about female artists of late 20th century New York, took the idea a step further: “Lee Krasner is no longer something we look at, it’s something we live in.”
The Krasner prints decorated everything from cotton sportswear separates to midi dresses in multiple silhouettes. There’s breadth and depth to Johnson’s categories, which is both a symbol of and a key to her achievement, and as of today, it appears that she’s adding a new one. A lace tunic worn with flared jeans and a Krasner print coat, among other pieces, were worn by male models. “These were not looks cut for men, they were cut as part of our ready-to-wear, but then the boys came in and they looked incredible; it felt so natural,” Johnson said. “I think this false binary between womenswear and menswear seems quite outdated, so maybe, yes, it’s the official launch of men’s.”
Craft is always a focus for Johnson, and this season there were day and evening styles on offer, including a shredded yarn top and skirt set and a black party dress with swags of gold bead fringe. On the more utilitarian side, she showed two-tone patch pocket denim, coated canvas field jackets, and cotton capes that conjured vintage military nurse uniforms.
Not to draw too oblique a parallel, but Krasner and Johnson share another similarity. The former was under-recognized in her life, working in the long shadow cast by her famous husband Jackson Pollock. The latter, for her part, doesn’t always get the credit she deserves for building one of New York’s biggest fashion businesses, without much in the way of support from the industry, at least at first. These days, though, Johnson’s success is unignorable.