The relationship between floristry and the fashion industry has always been there. Flowers are nature's clothes; they dress up the planet the way clothes do people. They are everywhere in fashion offices, sent as tokens of thanks or congratulations between media, designers, and models. They adorn offices backstage at shows and even the catwalk. Flowers and fashion have a genuine relationship, both seasonal and loved for their appearance. Further back than that, natural dyes made from plants have been used in clothes production as far back as 2600 BC and have coloured garments whilst brightening up the world at the same time.
For many, flowers and fashion seem like an obvious match, they are mutually entwined. They are both aesthetic businesses and are loved simply for being so bloomin' beautiful. In the way that clothes can alter a person's appearance, flowers alter their surroundings. Flowers bring luxury, freshness, glamour, and wholesomeness all at once. Flowers react to the personality of the venue or even the person they are dressing; the way clothes look different on different people, flowers react the same way.
Their influence and involvement of flowers in the fashion world are as timeless as it is seamless and natural. However, to the level that we see flowers used in the fashion industry today, especially in shows and catwalks, it definitely began emerging in 2012. For Raf Simmon's debut Cristian Dior show, he commissioned florist Mark Colle to embed the walls of his chosen venue, the hôtel particulier with thick beds of flowers. Overnight, the 'flower wall', a much-loved Instagram trend, was born.
Social media and fashion moments can ignite 'horticultural trends', just like the flower wall. Floristry and fashion are also both trend-lead businesses. Although floristry may be inspired by fashion moments, like the flower wall, it has always had its own trends in arranging and blooms that naturally evolve as new creatives become influential in the floristry industry.
In the way that clothes can alter a person's appearance, flowers alter their surroundings. Flowers bring luxury, freshness, glamour, and wholesomeness all at once. Flowers react to the personality of the venue or even the person they are dressing; the way clothes look different on different people, flowers react the same way.
The influence flowers have on huge fashion designers has never been a secret. Christian Louboutin once wrote, "I love plants. The garden allowed me to see colours, blends of colours and materials, juxtapositions of gloss and matte surfaces—it's very instructive." A colossal fashion mogul who turns their nose up at flowers will be a hard press to find.
Flowers produce a lovely smell, and although you can adorn models with perfume, the clothes don't carry this sweet smell. However, flowers have something that the fashion industry lacks. Flowers' fragile scent influences another of our primary senses, our smell. This influences and increases our love for them in person, which can't be done on social media, so although fashion can rely on social media, floristry businesses would be hiding 50% of their product's glory were they just to list online.
Floristry and fashion are two trends we can expect to sit back and watch develop. They will always see a constant relationship between the two through time, regardless of the seasonal trends that affect the two separately and as a pair.
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