At the Cooper Hewitt, Ulla Johnson unveiled a Spring 2026 collection that paid homage to one of her ultimate inspirations: the late Helen Frankenthaler, a pioneering figure of Abstract Expressionism. Johnson has long been known for collaborating with women artists or their estates—Lee Krasner, Anna Zemánková, and Shara Hughes among them—but Frankenthaler was “the dream,” she shared. Manifesting that dream took years of persistence, and its culmination is not only visible in this collection but also in the opening of Johnson’s new flagship store, located just blocks away from the show’s venue.
This season, Johnson fully embraced the idea that softness can be powerful. “In my creative art, ‘pretty’ and ‘feminine’… sometimes these words are taken to mean not serious or powerful,” she said. “I think Frankenthaler maybe struggled with that too. If you say it’s a beautiful picture, are you gutting something from what she was trying to say? Is it reductive?” After grappling with this for years, Johnson decided to lean into those very qualities.
The result was a collection rich with diaphanous, weightless fabrics and intricate detailing. Feather embellishments and soft fringes floated with every movement, creating a dreamlike effect. Swirls of color—directly inspired by Frankenthaler’s paintings—seeped into the textiles, giving the garments a painterly quality that blurred the line between fashion and fine art. The same color story extended to Johnson’s growing accessories line, with her expanding range of handbags also splashed with abstract motifs.
Johnson focused on three Frankenthaler works—Western Dream, Nature Abhors a Vacuum, and Moon Tide—each serving as a visual and emotional anchor for the collection. “When she put it on the floor, Frankenthaler felt like the border of the canvas became limitless,” Johnson explained. “That sense of being freed up without constraints, where really the edge can blur forever, was very inspiring for us.” This sense of boundarylessness translated into garments that felt airy, unconfined, and timeless.
The setting at the Cooper Hewitt Museum reinforced the idea of art in conversation with fashion. The collection was styled minimally to allow the garments’ textures and colors to speak. Hair and makeup stayed fresh and natural, with a touch of windswept softness that mirrored the fluidity of the silhouettes. The atmosphere was quietly reverent, as if each look were a brushstroke in a living painting.
What made this show compelling was Johnson’s insistence that embracing beauty, softness, and “prettiness” does not weaken a collection’s impact—if anything, it can amplify it. Her Spring 2026 lineup felt like a manifesto on the strength found in delicacy. By collaborating with Frankenthaler’s estate, she linked her work to a larger cultural dialogue about how femininity is perceived in both art and fashion.
The lingering question Johnson posed—what would Helen Frankenthaler wear from this collection, whether in her studio or on the streets—adds a layer of intrigue. There is a call here for balance: to see Johnson apply her considerable design drive toward sturdier, utilitarian pieces that could sit alongside her weightless dresses. For now, this collection celebrates the unrestrained, the soft, and the poetic—reminding us that there is power in leaning into beauty, even in a world that often undervalues it.
Ulla Johnson Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear Collection
