For Spring Summer 2026, Johanna Ortiz invited her audience on a poetic voyage along Colombia’s Río Magdalena, a river that has long shaped the rhythm of her homeland and the spirit of her work. Presented through a serene lookbook at Paris Fashion Week, Magdalena unfolded as both homage and meditation: a story of movement, memory, and the timeless strength of feminine creation.

At the heart of the collection lies the artistry of Ortiz’s Cali atelier, where nearly five hundred artisans, most of them women, translate heritage into modernity through their hands. Their craftsmanship imbued each garment with intimacy and soul: macramé belts woven from natural fibers, floral embroideries echoing the lush banks of the Magdalena, and delicate hems meticulously hand-finished. While fine silks and jerseys hailed from Italy, the essence remained profoundly Colombian, an unbroken dialogue between tradition and evolution.

The palette flowed like the river itself – warm terracottas, sunlit ochres, moss, and coral shades that breathed both vitality and serenity. Silhouettes draped with instinctive grace, as if caught in the rhythm of a current: long, fluid dresses anchored by corset belts, cropped jackets layered with effortless balance, and sequined accents that shimmered like sunlight on moving water. Each piece captured a sense of wanderlust tempered by composure – a woman rooted in her origins yet unafraid to drift toward new horizons.

Accessories deepened the collection’s narrative. Ortiz reimagined her beloved mochila bags, handmade by the Kankuamo community of the Sierra Nevada, not as tokens of the past but as living threads of continuity. They served as symbols of resilience, connecting contemporary elegance to ancestral storytelling.

With Magdalena, Johanna Ortiz reaffirmed her place as one of Latin America’s most soulful and sophisticated voices in fashion. The collection was not merely a presentation but a quiet ceremony, one where artistry and emotion flowed in unison and where the act of creation became as fluid, enduring, and alive as the river itself.