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
