It comes as little surprise that florals have already emerged as a trend for the Spring/Summer 2018 season. As Miranda Priestly smartly quipped in The Devil Wears Prada, “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”
And it’s true. Though the delicate flowers and pink blossoms on dresses from Ulla Johnson and Hellessy were pretty, there were plenty of other blossoms that seemed to catch the attention—and social media snaps—of the fashion week elite. These flowers were real, and they were fashioned into breathtakingly intricate arrangements at a number of different shows. At Sandy Liang’s cool girl presentation of pastel lace dresses and feminine fleece jackets, the exotic orchids in hues of baby pink and light blue were also the focus of Instagram accounts among the revelers in Narcbar. Created by Brrch Floral‘s Brittany Asch, these stunning arrangements were accented by creative touches, such as feathers and chains.
Asch was also responsible for the vibrant blooms that lined a shelf in Mansur Gavriel’s all-pink shop. Aside from the brand’s see-now, buy-now debut (and their decision to put scrunchies on the models), the editors, buyers and famous bloggers simply could not stop talking about the two shelves of flowers on display.
At Brandon Maxwell, a glamorous pink and red tiger—made from fresh blooms by florist Nicolas Cogrel—was a fitting centerpiece for the endlessly elegant collection. Set designer Marla Weinhoff explained her process behind this lavish creation: “I found the inspiration in a Vogue living book from the ’60s and asked the florist to do it.” We’re sure that building this extra-large animal head was not quite as simple as Weinhoff makes it seem.
One brand even decided to make floret part of their runway; seriously, models at Brock Collection stomped down a gardenia-covered catwalk, scenting the room as they floated by in dreamy frocks, which were themselves covered in delicate floral prints.
“It was a true collaboration with High Camp Supply—we decided to use their gardenias for the impact of the strong, sweet scent of the flower to set the mood and tone for our guests,” said Laura Vassar Brock, one half of the design duo behind the brand. “We wanted them to walk into a room that reflected our inspiration. The collection was inspired by a darker romance, childhood nostalgia; we explored notes of the brand in a new way and the flowers brought our inspiration to life.”
Jason Wu and Cinq à Sept also got into the major floral trend, each presenting their collections alongside larger than life arrangements that provided a flash of natural color alongside their spring collections. Even street style is getting into the floral game, when Lewis Miller Design created not one, but two “flower flashes” around the city. Basically a type of graffiti, in the form of very Instagrammable flowers, the arrangements were created to celebrate a new collection from British paint and wallpaper company, Farrow & Ball.
“My flower flashes bring the wild and raw abundance of the country to this gorgeous but grimy city in an unexpected and beautiful way,” Lewis Miller explained. And they’re a way for civilians get a front row view to this fragrant and stunning trend, at least according to Charlotte Cosby, Head of Creative at Farrow & Ball.
She explained: “Building on the creative energy of a city like New York, especially during Fashion Week, we hope to inspire people everywhere to find a moment of escapism in the everyday—whether it’s in their home, on their daily commute, at work, or on their way to a fashion show.”