Fashion designer Ulla Johnson unveiled her Spring/Summer 2026 collection at the prestigious Cooper Hewitt Museum on September 14, 2025, drawing profound inspiration from Abstract Expressionist painter Helen Frankenthaler. This latest collection represents the next chapter in Johnson's ongoing collaboration series with influential female artists, following her previous partnerships with Lee Krasner, Anna Zemánková, and Shara Hughes.

Johnson revealed that she particularly connected with Frankenthaler's complex relationship with the concept of beauty, noting that the artist "struggled with the meaning of the word beautiful." The designer explained that she similarly grapples with this idea in her own collections, questioning traditional notions of what constitutes meaningful artistic expression. By choosing the ornate Beaux Arts Cooper-Hewitt Museum as her venue, just blocks away from her new Upper East Side boutique, Johnson deliberately embraced the uptown fashion crowd in a setting that matched her aesthetic vision.

The designer boldly challenged conventional wisdom about feminine aesthetics, arguing that "pretty and feminine are ideas not often taken to mean serious or powerful." Rather than viewing these concepts as reductive, Johnson chose to "dig in, embracing it full on," making a deliberate statement about the intersection of beauty, power, and femininity in contemporary fashion.

Johnson's interpretation of Frankenthaler's artistic vision materialized in a range of gauzy, abstract, and color-filled pieces that emphasized movement and transparency. The collection featured an abundance of embellishments including fringe, feathers, and ruffles, creating what Johnson described as "a lot of transparency and buoyancy in the movement of the collection." She explained that this approach gave "the sense of lightness, this weightless way of feeling both powerful and completely yourself," which was evident in the prairie dresses, printed denim, bow blouses, and lightweight capes that dominated the runway.

Three specific Frankenthaler paintings served as the creative foundation for the collection: "Western Dream," "Nature Abhors a Vacuum," and "Moon Tide." These masterworks provided Johnson with a vibrant color palette featuring bright greens, purples, peaches, and roses, artfully mixed with rich caramel browns. These colors were translated into floating dresses adorned with ruffles and elegant coats, with some pieces featuring the same hues realized in sequins on skirts and tops. The collection also included a selection of brightly colored handbags, each designed to capture the sense of movement that characterized Frankenthaler's brushwork.

Critics noted that the collection achieved its greatest success when Johnson exercised restraint in her design choices. Standout pieces included a strapless dress where colors seamlessly blended toward the hemline and an intricate hand-crocheted knit dress that showcased technical craftsmanship. However, some pieces presented challenges, with certain combinations of peplums and voluminous sleeves creating what observers described as "sartorial dissonance" due to the mixing of multiple design ideas.

Reflecting on her creative vision, Johnson emphasized the emotional core of her work, stating, "I think a sense of life and joy is something that I've really sought to convey" throughout the collection. This philosophy underscored her commitment to translating the expressive power of Frankenthaler's abstract paintings into wearable art that celebrates both femininity and strength.