Who is Johanna Ortiz, the designer behind Meghan Markle’s gold dress at at the Women Of Vision Awards?

With Prince Harry by her side, Meghan Markle glistened in a gold dress as she accepted a 'Women of Vision Award' at a New York Gala. What was interesting about the dress is that it was not only a world apart from the style of dresses she used to wear as a senior working royal, but the choice of designer was a departure for Meghan too.

Rather than opt for the likes of  Christian Dior, Carolina Herrera, or Stella McCartney, Meghan Markle went for a gold dress with a keyhole cut out by Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz who is certainly not a household name. I however, have long been a fan of Johanna’s designs as they are glamorous, fun, feminine and often feature vibrant patterns.

It is interesting to note that as Elle Decor says “Ortiz’s love of fashion actually stems from her passion for interiors, which is evident in both her clothing creations-she is known for her pattern choices and often sources fabrics from vintage textiles-and her Cartagena vacation home of 13 years. Born and based in Cali, Colombia, an hour-and a-half flight away, she grew up around her decorator mother’s reams of fabrics.”

Johanna Ortiz’s clothes are available in the UK from the likes of Net-a-Porter and Matches Fashion, and dresses typically cost over £1500. Meghan Markle’s dress is a custom Johanna Ortiz Ideal Universe Midi-dress that costs $1850. She teamed it with a Carolina Herrera Metropolitan Insignia clutch for $1100, and Tom Ford padlock high heels for $1350. 

Meghan Markle’s Johanna Ortiz dress originally had straps that were removed to create a bespoke design for the Duchess of Sussex. It is thought that she might have opted for women-owned brand Johanna Ortiz to support the gala’s feminist theme.

For those of you who think Johanna Ortiz is an inaccessible designer only available for the rich and famous, she did a collaboration with H&M back in 2020. If you are desperate to follow in the footsteps of Meghan Markle, but unfortunately don’t have a budget and have obviously missed the H&M Johanna Ortiz collaboration, hope is not lost.

If you head to By Rotation you can rent an H&M X Johanna Ortiz dress from as little as £14. My personal favourite from the range on By Rotation is a maxi yellow floral dress with scarf collar, to rent from £18, perfect if you are a guest at forthcoming weddings over the summer.

Now back to Meghan Markle’s Johanna Ortiz dress, the choice of designer was not only unusual for Meghan, but the style of dress demonstrated (as I have already written previously) that she is returning to her pre-royal style. She would of course not have chosen to wear a dress with a keyhole cut out when she was a senior royal. This post royal Meghan look is much more Hollywood now.

It would seem that other Hollywood stars are in agreement with Meghan Markle when it comes to Johanna Ortiz. Back in 2017, Jennifer Garner wore a strapless red velvet Johanna Ortiz dress to the premiere of The Tribes Of Palos Verdes. 

It will be interesting to see if Meghan’s choice of Johanna Ortiz was a one off or if she will continue to wear her in the future.