"Fashion is the reflection of society," says Nasheli Juliana Ortiz-González on her website, describing perhaps both her philosophy as a fashion designer and her career both reflecting society through fashion and shaping it through teaching and working in academia. 

Nasheli Juliana Ortiz-González is currently the Fashion Design Chair at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia — the country’s first and only women’s visual arts college for undergraduates. Born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Ortiz-González received her MFA in Fashion Design from Savannah College of Art and Design, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, in addition to an AAS from Altos de Chavón. With her brand, Nasheli Juliana, Ortiz-González has shown her own collections internationally, including most recently her Suora collection, which was shown on the runway at Oxford Fashion Studio’s Emerging Designers Show at Devonshire Square in London in February and was even featured with a photo in Vogue. 

Closer to home, Ortiz-González is leading the way in the latest production of Moore College of Art & Design’s annual spring fashion show, set to take place on May 11 at 8 p.m. in the Annenberg Court of the Barnes Foundation. 

“During this year, as a program, we have gone through a deep and conscious examination and I expect the viewer to see on the runway the fruits of our interest in research and interdisciplinary learning,” Ortiz-González said in a press statement from Moore College of Art & Design. “We want to showcase the extensive grounding in construction, pattern-making, and fabric manipulation. We have ready-to-wear, but we also have experimental, conceptual, and sculptural pieces that really push the boundaries. I think the audience is going to see (and enjoy) some great design.” 

In addition to a runway display of the students’ collections, the show will feature multimedia displays in which the student designers will explain their process and inspiration for their collections. The fashion show is sponsored by Century 21 Department Store, Anthropologie, EMD Performance Materials, P’unk Avenue and Adrienne Vittadini ‘66. 

Ortiz-González has also developed her own brand, Nasheli Juliana, and outside of academia has also worked in technical design, drapery, tailoring, and fine sewing for various designers in New York, Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico throughout her 16-year career in the fashion industry. 

In her visit with AL DIA, Ortiz-González will speak to her work as a woman designer, her connection to Puerto Rico, her vision for the fashion department at Moore College, and more.