On a late summer morning, Ulla Johnson unveiled her Spring/Summer 2026 collection inside a landmark Beaux-Arts mansion on New York’s Upper East Side, transforming the historic setting into a luminous stage for her collaboration with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.

Inspired by Frankenthaler’s revolutionary soak-stain technique, Johnson translated the painter’s sweeping gestures into lushly draped georgette, organza, and satin-faced silks. A palette echoing “Western Dream” (1957), “Moontide” (1968), and “Nature Abhors a Vacuum” (1973) vibrated with incandescence, while hand-dyed feathers cascaded across necklines and bodices, whispering power and grace.

The collection unfolded as a meditation on clothing as memory — garments not only as daily canvases of self-expression but also as vessels of time, intimacy, and transformation. From feathered gowns to sculptural tailoring, each look was walked into life by a diverse cast that embodied the spirit of New York: a city where every street is a runway and where clothing, like art, tells the story of who we are and who we wish to become.

This landmark show also marked the debut of Johnson’s seminal partnership with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation — a rare fusion of contemporary fashion and one of modern art’s most groundbreaking voices.

Runway imagery Courtesy of Ulla Johnson

SHOW CREDITS:

Styling: April Hughes
Casting: Anita Bitton, The Establishment
Makeup: Romy Soleimani, for Sisley-Paris Cosmetics
Hair: Diego Da Silva, for Wella
Nails: Manicure by Deborah Lippmann using Deborah Lippmann
Production Design: Andrew Ondrejcak
Lighting: FARO
Video: IDI
Music: Jean-Michel Derain
Voice of Helen Frankenthaler
Production: KCD
Collection Management: Rae / Creative
Fine jewelry, by Kentshire