The Couture Garden Party of New York Fashion Week
With global perspectives and a collaborative state of mind, New York brand — Flor et.al — hosted a nuanced “Garden Party” to debut its Spring 2020 collection.
Derived from the words “flor”, Spanish for “flower”, and “et al”, abbreviated Latin translation for “and others”, the New York brand with international roots, acknowledges that beauty is the consequence to all that flourishes around us. The design team — Design Director Karin Gardkvist, Nadia Manjarrez and Milad Khoreibani — inspired by the foundation of their professional namesake, turned to the nature that surrounds them and the social sifts of the mid-1800s and the Pre-Raphaelite era for this Spring collection of draped, aery fabrics and nature-inspired vibrant colors.
Hosted at The Garden at Palma for New York Fashion Week — just for the day — Spring had arrived. Inspired by strong, independent women like poet, artist, and model, Elizabeth Siddal, wife to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, founder of the reformation of art movement of the Pre-Raphaelite era, the brand sought to empower women through their thoughtful and influential collections. “The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of English painters, poets, and art critics who advocated a return to the simplicity and sincerity of subject and style found in an earlier age. [Siddal] was a trailblazer of that era and her poetry was also believed to be one of the very first expressions of feminism and inspired the feminist movement,” shared the design team. Taking a close look at the then-unconventional fashions brought to Victorian life during this pivotal movement in art’s past, the designers incorporated traces of effortless grace, long, loosely styled coiffure and collarless dresses into their voluminous and feminine aesthetic. “We paid extra attention to treating fabrics with pleating and flounces.”
Also drawing influence from the Industrial Revolution of the Pre-Raphaelite era and the development of synthetic pigments introducing artists to more vibrant colors, “The first synthetic pigment was ‘mauve,’ a vibrant shade of purple-fuchsia. This color can be found throughout the Spring collection in both strong solids as well as ombre prints that use the colors of the period from light mauve to dark purple,” shared the design team. Staying true to their collaborative philosophy the brand sought out artists in France and Italy and vintage archives in the UK to create floral prints that incorporate these vibrant colors. “The blues in the water print and natural greens also represent the design team’s commitment to creating sustainable clothes.” Also sourcing ethically and environmentally responsible certified silk fabrics, as well as naturally dyed recycled fibers the brand further proved that great style does not have to come at the expense of the environment.
Designing to inspire much like the Pre-Raphaelite, progressive “new woman” circles of the Victorian age, the designers adopted and nurtured this iconic shift in fashion and the still quintessential figures of subversion, integrating detailed silhouettes, cuts and coloring true to this time. “The Flor et.al woman is a strong, independent woman who is not scared to wear color and prints. She is confident and she doesn’t mind being the center of attention. She is socially and environmentally conscious, cultured and well-traveled.” Motivated to keep their growth organic and keeping their customers at the forefront, the label works to ensure they understand what the customer is looking for and then deliver to her the product she is coming to know and love from Flor et.al. “We are going to continue to grow with our retail partners including Saks and Neiman Marcus as well as new international retail and e-commerce partners to be direct to consumer. We will continue to push influencer and media outreach and have more pop-up events with key influencers and customers; and as we continue to grow, the more opportunities we will have for sustainable practices to reduce our carbon footprint.”
Today it’s a beautiful garden party, but tomorrow? It’s safe to say we cannot wait to see what this flourishing label will be serving up for the new season!
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