La Designer
NASHELI JULIANA
As a native of Puerto Rico, a respected academic leader, and a creative entrepreneur committed to social justice, Ortiz González brings a unique set of skills to the Executive Director role at Taller. In her roles as Associate Professor and Chair of Fashion Design at Moore, Ortiz González developed a department that pairs a humanistic approach with a cutting-edge global vision. Ortiz González is a highly sought-after fashion designer who serves as the principal owner of Nasheli Juliana (NJ),an apparel company focused on social justice, as well as co-founder and principal of 22 studio, a women-led transdisciplinary design practice that operates between the United States and Puerto Rico. She is also a founding Board Member of the Philadelphia Fashion Garment and Industry Task Force, a group for professional and business development, education, trade events, supply chain and local manufacturing, social impact and sustainability in the city. Her fashion designs have been shown at Paris, London, New York, and Miami Fashion Weeks, to name just a few. Ortiz González’s work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, and Forbes, among other prestigious publications. In 2020, she was featured in the Netflix series “Next in Fashion,” and was named as one of Al DÍA News’ 40 Under 40.
LA COLLECTION
FLOWER TUS SUEÑOS
The inspiration and theme for this collection started with spring season school sports. We chose tennis and then we asked ourselves who in our culture represents that sport.
We chose two Puerto Rican professional Latina tennis players who have made their marks in the sport and who have followed the theme of our spring collection “Flower tus Suenos.” These two women have watered, given light and love just to see their dreams grow.
Gigi Fernandez and Monica Puig are women to look to, for inspiration and for the spaces they have created for us to only make bigger. Gigi Fernandez is the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the international tennis hall of fame. Monica Puig is the first Puerto Rican in history to win a gold medal at the Olympics while representing Puerto Rico.
For most of us, our dreams do not grow overnight. We must see our dreams and desires as plants and flowers that need our life ingredients to grow. We should flower our suenos(dreams) so that we can appreciate the growth from the seedling stage to the ever so blossoming stage where our dreams come to flourish.