{"id":78618,"date":"2023-06-15T20:52:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T20:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=78618"},"modified":"2023-06-15T20:54:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T20:54:08","slug":"ulla-johnson-game-changers","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/ulla-johnson-game-changers\/","title":{"rendered":"For Fashion Designer Ulla Johnson, It’s All About Making Pieces That ‘Feel Joyful and Transporting’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Every issue,\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>GRAZIA USA<\/strong>\u00a0highlights\u00a0Game Changers<\/a> who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty and style. Meet Ulla Johnson, the fashion designer of her beloved eponymous brand that knows inspiration comes from a culmination of sources.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ulla Johnson<\/a> started her namesake brand at 24 years old and the self-taught designer quickly learned that business savvy is just as important as creativity. She got an early endorsement from Barneys New York and has grown to have the support of retailers across the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. \u201cI started small, and since then it\u2019s been a decision of mine to make sure that the brand is growing deliberately and doesn\u2019t lose what made it feel special,\u201d the designer tells GRAZIA USA<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Johnson says she\u2019s been \u201cfairly obsessed\u201d with fashion from a young age. “I always loved dressing up, but it was important to my parents that I have a proper liberal arts education,” the designer shares, so she studied women\u2019s studies and psychology. “Within my work, I was very interested in fashion theory and the way clothes make women feel \u2014 how they can serve to empower the wearer.” After, she “quickly” fell into a career in fashion \u2013 but building her brand came with “many roadblocks ” along the way.<\/p>\n

Through it all, her studies impact “every single thing about the way that I design and why I create clothes for and by women.”<\/p>\n

As the child of archaeologists, Johnson began traveling early on in life, and those experiences are still part of what also informs her work today. \u201cMy design process often starts with an aggregate of inspirations; a trip, an artwork, a textile, and evolves from there,\u201d she explains. \u201cI try to make things that feel joyful and transporting. From a young age, I\u2019ve always been exposed to different points of view, and I think that led to my love of craft and collaborating with artisans globally. Exploration and preservation of local traditions is something I find very inspiring and is at the heart of my designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being a collector at heart helps too. “I\u2019m also very much into gathering; my process of designing a new collection is like gathering and building upon touchstones.”<\/p>\n

Read GRAZIA USA<\/em>\u2019s Summer issue featuring cover star Priyanka Chopra Jonas:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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