Belle Fiori has happily survived our 8th Art in Bloom week at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where we created both an artwork inspired floral installation, as well as a gorgeously detailed floral dress for the Saturday evening fashion show. Belle Fiori has been featured at this annual event since it’s beginning, and we always look forward to seeing the artwork through a florist’s eye.
This year, we had two teams of designers for each of the projects. Team #1 was given “Untitled, 1960 by Joan Mitchell”, an abstract piece that included vivid bursts of intense color and thick, textured brushwork. Designers Alex Covert, Jennifer Nolan and Amy Reese used various concrete vessels layered with a variety of plants, using the Japanese Kokedama technique so that plants could be easily positioned. Air plants and succulents added bits of texture, color and interest, while lush groupings of blue, yellow and copper flowers drew the eye upwards. One of our favorite comments was from a museum staff member who said, “Your piece makes the painting look better!” We were also honored to have our design featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal on March 21st.
Team # 2 consisted of Erika Herman, Tama Roberts and Cecilia Zea, who put an incredible amount of time and creative energy into a beautiful floral dress for the Beauty in Bloom fashion show. The team began researching and sketching up plans, ultimately designing a long tunic to be worn over a voluminous tulle skirt. Tama designed and constructed both garments, with the entire team spending over 40 hours hand sewing galax and ti leaves onto the tunic, then gluing individual flowers and petals into intricate, tapestry inspired patterns. The design was topped off with a lush floral headpiece created by Erika and the whole ensemble was modeled with beauty and grace by Sinceree Dixon. We could write a whole book about this dress, but we’ll let the pictures tell the story.
