Fashion Brief
I’m embarrassed by how unmoved I am by flowers. I mean, I don’t mind a bouquet, but my peak pleasure comes from carrying them home on public transport, feeling self-important and getting in commuters’ way. Watching them die in a vase is a bit of a drag. I feel distinct antipathy towards floral prints. Most are so insipid – and they’re a lazy shorthand for pretty-pretty old-school femininity. No one puts on a big blobby rose pattern before striding into a boardroom and closing a billion-dollar deal.
This season, though, I’m prepared to reconsider. Florals come around every summer in fashion along with white and lace, but this year’s crop is an interesting bunch. Alexander McQueen’s spring 2015 show set the tone. Artist Marc Quinn created alarming triffid-like orchids to decorate the catwalk, and the Japanese influence was obvious in the collection’s kimonos and bold flower prints. What made these looks interesting was that the models wore lacquered headwear and high ponytails that made them look more like samurai warriors than geishas. Finally flowers were a bit ballsy.
Though few other designers matched Alexander McQueen’s warriors, there were many other flowers that broke the stereotype on the season’s catwalks. Simone Rocha, Chanel and Michael Kors had 3D flowers popping out of their clothes. Thom Browne and Marni featured properly garish blooms, definitely not suitable for wallflowers.
If you want to spend a lot of money on this trend, try Simone Rocha. She’s an amazing designer. She’s just 29, only started showing in 2010 and she’s already won heaps of prizes and accolades, including a British Fashion Award. You could consider it an investment. I’d also recommend Antoni Alison. This London design duo pioneered digi-printing – putting photo-realistic images on fabric – before all the young guns got their hands on it, and their floral trompe-l’oeil frocks are just beautiful.
The high street also has good offerings for the feisty florals trend. Topshop has some really great blobby, strong flower prints, or you could go for the more abstract design shown here. I picked this because it’s a polo shirt. Polo shirts are another big trend this summer. Buy a flowery one, kill two birds with one stone.
If you’re still unconvinced by the idea of florals, dip your toe in to test the waters: buy some shoes. I like these Asos peep-toe platforms because they’re weird and clumpy and the antithesis of the styles associated with chintzy prints. And they’re only £25. If you decide you don’t like them, no biggie.
I’m never going to be a big fan of florals, but this season’s prints have made me reconsider this style cliché. I still think no woman’s going to close a business deal in a rose pattern, but now I’d love to see someone seal the deal in one of McQueen’s lacquered headdresses. That would be quite something.
Follow Alice on Instagram @aliceefisher
