You can always rely on Johanna Ortiz to bring a little South American flavor to Paris Fashion Week. With her presentation at the Colombian ambassador’s private residence in the Seventh Arrondissement today, the designer did just that, laying out a spread of tropical, delicious treats that included chontaduro and honey, a delicacy direct from her homeland. The jumping-off point for her new collection was a little further afield, focusing on the Polynesian beauties of French Impressionist Paul Gauguin. Ortiz used the painter’s richly colorful brushstrokes to reimagine floral prints, a mainstay of her label, including the red blossoms—based on a Colombian orchid variety—that appeared on ruffled cocktail dresses.
Party frocks are undoubtedly a substantial part of Oritz’s business, though she’s made the biggest waves in international waters with her ruffled off-the-shoulder shirting. This season she evolved the popular going-out top with a fresh proposition for evening dressing. Using the kimono as a blueprint, the designer presented her own take on robe dressing, with shirtdresses that were designed to pull triple duty in a woman’s wardrobe, sometimes holding their own, other times worn open as breezy spring coats or layered over jeans. It was a nice way to bridge the day-to-night gap, particularly combined with Oritz and Tabitha Simmons’s new footwear collaboration—red flats for day and twisted metallic platform sandals for night.
Once again, Oritz dipped a toe into the denim market, and her current sampling of jeans is bound to a good cause, to boot. Printed with a map of South America, Central America, Africa, and Asia, the cropped jeans were produced in the wake of Mexico’s recent earthquake, and a portion of the proceeds will go toward helping the victims. With a collection that boasted more than 50 looks, it’s clear that Ortiz is in expansion mode. Though she’s continuing to chart new territory, she’s not forgetting where she came from: The majority of the collection still bears the label “Made in Colombia.”
