“The name of the collection is ‘Andina.’ We moved a little more into the South with Latin American flare — it’s not only about the Colombian tropics that we always put into our inspiration, but this time it comes from the Colombian, Ecuadorian, Argentinian and Peruvian point of view of how I see the Andes and the women,” designer Johanna Ortiz said of her latest collection, which celebrated a variety of traditional artisanal techniques and motifs of the regions, while melding in the designer’s signature modernly effortless, feminine DNA.
For instance, Ortiz’s first look of the collection: a “business in the front, party in the back” sleek cotton poplin beige trenchcoat with large-scale colorful jacquard landscape emblazoned on its backside over a matching cotton poplin Western belted midi skirt with vegan leather palm tree embroidery and ribbed knit T-shirt with vegan leather trim. Ortiz noted the collection’s chic equestrian elements (from suede and vegan leather layers and trims to updated cowboy boots) were inspired by her recent time spent in Argentina watching her children play polo, while the trench’s tropical landscape and palette paid homage to the Andes.
Elsewhere, Ortiz referenced ancient Incan iconography with Lily and leaf motifs, mixed with her signature large-scale Palm patterns, while touching on ancient Peruvian textiles with stripes and hand-painted cross stitched prints across a variety of versatile, colorful dresses and matching sets (in a palette of vivid reds and pinks, orange, greens, indigo blues, black-ecru and more, said to pay tribute to the Inca’s textile legacy).
“We’re thinking more about pieces that we’re bringing back into our closet and using more times — dressing up or down with the accessories, which are important because they can bring so much personality to a dress,” Ortiz said, as seen through the collection’s versatile knits, tank dresses with embroidered seed bead and pom pom-adorned straps, miniskirts layered over maxi slip skirts, curve-hugging shiny jersey dresses (great for day in polo-style), tunics and sets with matching pareo wraps, and more.
Overall, pre-fall offered plenty of variety from day to night on easy silhouettes that nicely balance out the collection’s maximalist prints, rich cultural references and strong artisanal accessories.
