The Tamesis
Johanna Ortiz opened Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Madrid as guest designer on Tuesday evening by showing her Autumn/Winter 2026 collection in the ballroom of the Círculo de Bellas Arte cultural center. The Spanish capital marks a change from the previous show locations New York (resort 2019, resort 2020 and resort 2024) and Paris. But the move is more than just a change of scenery. It marks the next step in Ortiz’s growth strategy.
The designer launched his eponymous brand in 2003 in his hometown of Cali, Colombia. But today, its largest market is the United States. Johanna Ortiz opened a standalone store on Madison Avenue in 2024, joining its three Columbia outposts, about 200 wholesale stores and a handful of pop-up stores that the designer calls “caravans.” The next pop-up store is set to open this summer in the Spanish resort city of Marbella.
“[Pop-ups] “It’s a great way to get to know our customers because our Johanna Ortiz models started wholesale,” Ortiz told me the morning of the show. We meet at the private members club Metropolis, where she’s been hosting trunk shows in her suite all week. “It’s not just a shopping event, we make it an experience. We host cocktail parties, luncheons and happy hours.”
Photo: Scarlett Carcillo
Photo: Scarlett Carcillo
Expanding into Europe and developing direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels is a focus for Ortiz. “Having a stronger presence in Europe is definitely one of my goals,” she said. “We’ve been looking for the right moment and I think the right moment is coming.”
The brand currently generates 60% of its revenue from wholesale, down from 90% three years ago. The brand said the shift to DTC has helped drive strong growth. Sales increase from $17 million in 2024 to approximately $30 million in 2025. But for artisan-led brands like Johanna Ortiz, rapid growth can create production challenges. “We’re trying to keep up because we’re a vertically integrated company,” she said. “We manage the supply chain and produce all our products in Colombia, and we remain a private, family-owned company.”
About 90% of the products are made in Colombia, with knitwear in Peru and outerwear in Spain. The company has 460 employees in its studios and operations in Colombia, about 78% of whom are women, and launched a program called “Escuela Johanna Ortiz” in 2016 to promote the development of sewing and embroidery skills among disadvantaged groups and local artisans.
