We need no further evidence that fashion is obsessed with the art world than the spring collection from Belgian designer Dries Van Noten.
Bursting with fluid, vibrant florals, it is a riot of wearable art – Paul Gauguin paintings turned into canvases that drape the body. Each flower explodes with its own artistic identity, blossoming into forms far beyond conventional.
This is how the fashion world makes fusty florals feel fresh. Forget delicate rosebuds and pretty little petals. The buzzword is “painterly,” and the references have more in common with Impressionism than Realism.
Florals make an appearance every spring just as plaid does in the fall, acknowledges Nicole Phelps, executive editor of Style.com. What's changed is that the newest crop can be appreciated by women who usually stay off the garden path. “I think the painterly style is certainly easier to wear than the photo print,” she says from New York. “It becomes almost abstract.”
Balenciaga dress, $2,285 at Holt Renfrew. Bakelite earrings, $40 at Accessity (accessity.com). Hunter boots, $125 at the Bay (hbc.com). (Rafal Gerszak for The Globe and Mail)
Photogallery
By all accounts, Nicolas Ghesquière's runway collection for Balenciaga is the most radical approach this season. His prints – referencing luscious hydrangeas and pastel peonies – are a species unto themselves. The most notable dress looks like a suit of floral armour, with moulded round shoulders, a fitted torso and bulging bell skirt.
But don't expect to find it in many stores. Actress Jennifer Connelly took heat for wearing one of the outré dresses on the red carpet, so it's not surprising that retailers have focused on the label's unstructured shirt-dresses or jumpers (shown above): They communicate the same message without as much drama.
And while high fashion planted this seed, the painterly effect is sprouting up across all price points. The look plays into the ladylike dressing that is also a major theme this season, says Tara Wickwire, spokeswoman for Banana Republic in Canada. Not to mention the fact that flowers are surefire spirit lifters.
“I think people are searching for optimism and this feels like a new and interesting way to offer it,” she says.
David Wolfe of the Doneger Group, a New York-based market trend research firm, agrees. And a print is a welcome counterpoint to the abundance of trim, sequins and embroidery of springs past, he says.
“We have become bored with applied decorations,” he writes in an e-mail. “But we are accustomed to a lot of visual interest.”
Incidentally, shoes have gone the literal route. Look no further than Miuccia Prada's flower footwear (shown at right). Alas, the painted heels, while beautiful, are too fragile for city streets. Hence the rain boots as a fun, of-the-moment pairing.
Then again, these flowers do not require water – only good style – to thrive.
Strike a posy
Dresses are the easiest way to try the new florals. Separates make less of a statement but are more versatile. Pair them with bold colours such as geranium red, grass green or cornflower blue – any shade that is echoed in the print. For an advanced level look combine a floral with a different print: The secret is contrast. The secondary piece cannot also be painterly or large and irregular. Go for microstripes à la Missoni. And never be too literal: Do not wear brown shoes, green pants and a pink blouse. Then you're a laughing stalk.
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