Ulla Johnson Fall 2020 Campaign by Yelena Yemchuk | Ulla's Tears for Jacob Blake

The spirits of female nomads permeate Ulla Johnson’s Fall 2020 collection, filmed in this new campaign video , shot in the unfamiliar terrain of Long Island’s North Fork and starring Indira Scott and Jordan Daniels. Shop the collection on Ulla Johnson.com

April Hughes styles the shoot with images by Yelena Yemchuk./ Hair by Bob Receine; makeup by Romy Soleimani

Weeping for Jacob Blake on August 28

AOC is not surprised to visit Ulla Johnson’s Instagram and immediately discover a tribute to Jacob Blake. Any designer who works with artisans in Peru and Kenya, while living in Ft. Green, Brooklyn is probably committed to the Black Lives Matter movement. Ulla writes:

“This is Jacob Blake. He was shot seven times in the back in front of his children. The cycle of violence in our country must come to an end. The moment is now for us to join our voices in unison to demand change at the local, state, and federal level, to cast out the current regime, to retrain our police officers, to fund our social workers, to unite our actions against a system that perpetuates racist violence.”

At this moment, Anne hears activists in Washington, DC gathered on this important day in America’s racial history. Jacob Blake’s sister is speaking, as he lies in a hospital bed paralyzed— BUT SHACKLED !!! — to his bed.

Update Fri PM: officials in Wisconsin have heard our united horror over Jacob Blake fighting for his life, paralyzed from the waist down and still SHACKLED like he was on a slave ship! Blake’s shackles have now been removed, although we continue to hang our heads in shame for this further debasement of his fragile and wounded body.

August 28: Anne’s Annual Day of Reflection

Today is the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held in Washington, DC on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. It’s also the anniversary of the brutal murder of the young, 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955.

It’s also my birthday, and so the day of August 28, — one that should be spent in quiet celebration — is always a day of deep reflection for me about America’s original sin of slavery. Even more painful is the reality that decades later systemic racism is worse than ever in our country — best exemplified by the presidency of Donald Trump.

I’ve taken a few liberties with Ulla Johnson’s Fall 2020 ad campaign, but I know she will not be upset with me. Because we share a common unity around the intersection of fashion and design with our deeply-held commitment to racial justice.

We are angry, unsettled, dispirited at what we are seeing in America — but our deep sorrow is nothing compared to the continued disproportionate suffering of people of color in our country. This travesty of injustice must end. ~ Anne