American Flowers Week Special Edition

Botanical Couture 2021: Floral Dress-Up as Creativity Blooms

Seven years ago, Slow Flowers Society launched a grassroots social media campaign to take place the week leading up to Independence Day. We called it “American Flowers Week” and challenged growers, farmer-florists, designers, and retailers to post photos of their U.S.-grown flowers on social media using the #americanflowersweek hashtag. While the actual campaign takes place June 28-July 4 each year, AFW has expanded into a month-long celebration during much of June . . . and culminates in the final seven days prior to the Fourth of July.

This year marks our sixth Botanical Couture collection for American Flowers Week. With 25 looks created to date, and recovering from the challenges of 2020 and the global pandemic, we are thrilled to share one dozen new wearable fashions showcased in the 2021 collection!

Flowers are more essential than ever. Locally grown flowers are having a renaissance, not just among those who have long valued sustainability and domestic agriculture, but among the public.

What is the point of this Botanical Couture series? Is it frivolous? Yes! Is it strategic? Yes! By presenting flowers as fashion, photographed with editorial styling to tell a story, the American Flowers Week campaign shines a light on the talented growers and designers who are part of the Slow Flowers Movement. Moreover, it changes what we think of flowers. No longer just a perishable item to capture a sentiment in time, perhaps the flowers, foliage, foraged botanicals, and natural elements you see in these pages will shift and expand your thinking. With flowers transformed as art or sculpture, as fashion and beauty, as a symbol of the human desire to connect with nature, there is much more to each bloom than one might imagine.

Production of the Botanical Couture Special Edition of Slow Flowers Journal features the talents of:

Editorial Director, Debra Prinzing, Slow Flowers Society
Design + Picture Editor, Robin Avni, BLOOM Imprint
Copy Editor: Judith H. Dern
Image Editor: Heather Marino
Cover Photography: Niesha Blancas + Ana Quinata
Cover Model: Jada Cruz

Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for American-grown flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that encourages consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases. Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the weekly "Slow Flowers Podcast" and the American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4) campaign. Debra is author of 11 books, including Slow Flowers (2013), The 50 Mile Bouquet (2012) and Slow Flowers Journal (2020). She is the co-founder of BLOOM Imprint, the boutique publishing arm of Slow Flowers.

Subscribe to SlowFlowers newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list

Powered by Robly

Slow Flowers Journal is brought to you by SlowFlowers.com. Slow Flowers is an award-winning online directory created to help consumers find florists, studio designers, wedding and event planners, supermarket flower departments and flower farmers that supply American grown flowers. Founded in 2014, the site has grown to 850 members across the U.S.

FOLLOW US ON

Media Contact:

For more information, please contact Debra Prinzing
at 206-769-8211 or 844-SLOWFLO (844-756-9356); debra(at)slowflowers.com.