From Cali to Paris, Colombia’s Joanna Ortiz shines at Fashion Week

Transformed by her own merits, Johanna Ortiz is one of the greatest ambassadors of Colombian design, the promoter of one of the most popular coffee brands outside its borders. While the name of the Bogota-born creator, Esteban Cortázar, resonated strongly as a Colombian performer at Paris Fashion Week in recent years before retiring from modeling in 2019; Now it is compatriot Joanna Ortiz who takes the reins in the busy schedule of fashion shows in the French capital.

“Easy, chic, bohemian and fun” are the words with which designer Joanna Ortiz defines her namesake brand for FashionNetwork.com, coinciding with her latest show at CoCo restaurant at the Palais Garnier. An old-fashioned presentation entitled “Le charme discret de la Bohème” (“The Hidden Bohemian Charm”) in which 48 looks were shown, inspired by the style of French shepherd and muse Madeleine Castaing or rock aesthetics. Mick Jagger.

Oversized shoulder pads, fringed leather jackets, faux fur coats, bohemian prints, or hand-painted jaguars were some of the details of the collection whose color palette was accented with burgundy or chocolate and caramel. Likewise, the proposal included a collaboration with the Spanish company The Extreme Collection for the manufacture of jackets and jackets.

“I started the brand with designs geared towards ‘resort wear’ or the beach and it didn’t take long for me to dress Colombia’s first lady, TV presenters or national celebrities. His style was more Latin American,” the creator recalls of her beginnings, having studied fashion design in Colombia. . “I am very excited about being an ambassador of fashion for Colombia and Latin America in general, with the ability to break established patterns and make different proposals that were not well known until now,” explains Joana Ortiz, who is aware of her media influence.

With two decades of history, the company founded in Cali in 2003 made its international leap in 2014, when the luxury retailer founded by Lauren Santo Domingo and Áslaug Magnúsdóttir chose the Colombian company to be part of its online catalog. Since then, the emergence of luscious original print designs and handcraft techniques has been meteoric.

“This was the first batch we sold outside our borders, and currently, 95% of our production is for export,” says Joanna Ortiz, noting that the United States and the United Kingdom are the main markets. The Colombian home-made luxury brand currently employs 440 artisans (78% women).

“Made in Colombia” which became an internet hit

A job to preserve craftsmanship and the local community has led to the designer having two of her own boutiques in Colombia, a well-developed international network of points of sale in places like Le Bon Marché, in Paris, or El Corte Inglés in Spain; Plus a strong online presence on platforms such as MyTheresa, Matchesfashion, Farfetch or Luisa Via Roma.

After promoting the brand in its infancy overseas, online sales are still essential to its business, accounting for more than 60% of sales volume. Recently, Joanna Ortiz launched her own online store “to not rely solely on what suits her clients’ e-commerce platform buyers.”

Well-known Colombian clothing falls into the premium category, with tops starting at $495 and dresses from $1,500 to $3,250. In 2020, Johanna Ortiz entered the accessible fashion sector by becoming the first Latin American brand to sign a collaboration with H&M.

“The path taken so far has been very enriching. I learned a lot about the business and confirmed my view of female empowerment. I am fortunate to be surrounded by so many talented women who inspire me,” says Joanna Ortiz. The company’s future plans include opening two physical stores in New York, a city that regularly hosts its presentations at Fashion Week, and betting on its European presentation through its presence at Paris Fashion Week.

“Fashion should be fun, we don’t work in banking or medicine. Our mission is to celebrate life and women,” the uniform designer concludes with a smile, before heading to Madrid, where she will receive an award for her career this week.