The latest trends in floral design Fresh Perspectives

February 2020
The Latest Trends in Floral Design By Marta Maria Garcia

Flower and floral design consumers are the ultimate ambassadors of the industry.

It’s been two-and-a-half years since I took my floral leap of faith, and my perspective on the usage of flowers and plants has widely expanded. The cut flower industry thrives on being on the cutting edge of design. Floral designers are powerful influencers who inspire end consumers to want to have flowers in their life! As a marketer, you’re always trying to find the influencers that influence the consumption of your product and I’ve arrived at the influencer mecca!

Here are the top five trends from floral designers across the U.S. and Europe.

Fast Fashion Flowers

From New York fashion week catwalks to Vogue magazine covers, flowers are having a moment with the fashion industry. Last year, Vogue’s revered September issue cover featured Beyoncé wearing a jaw-dropping floral headpiece which propelled wearable flowers to a new fashion trend.

Thanks to the power of social media and an unstoppable stream of ready-to-wear flowers, this new trend has ‘fast-fashion’ to mainstream consumer markets in a quick-second. Our customers at Aniska Creative in Miami (follow @aniskacreations) have told us that this year prom and wedding season has been filled with request for flowers crowns. Consumers are inspired to wear flowers during important events in their lives; this makes it a great opportunity for us to #crownthemoment with flower sales!

Tropical Nouveau

In the past couple of years, I’ve been watching tropical floral prints make the scene in home décor and fashion (follow @jungalow). I was not surprised when Pantone announced that the color of the year in 2019 was Living Coral — this just confirmed the impact of this trend. Tropical cut flowers have become the flowers du jour for stylish people and trendsetters alike. Floral designers have made this trend their own by fusing traditional offerings like roses, hydrangeas, carnations and chrysanthemums with exotic tropical flowers such as orchids, proteas, birds of paradise and anthuriums. Tropical flowers give arrangements a high perceived value and pair nicely with modern home décor. For more inspiration on this trend make sure to follow @hitomigilliam, @renehofstede and @theblondetulip.

<a href="https://lgrmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-latest-trends-in-floral-design.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-56270" src="https://lgrmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-latest-trends-in-floral-design-300x225.jpg" alt="The latest trends in floral design" width="300" height="225" /></a>Floral and Foliage Fusion

The usage of cut foliage in floral design work is on the rise. The sky is the limit for designers when they design with cut foliage. You can find foliage such as cut-cycad leaves (ouch!) in flower arrangements (follow @ oscarandmore and @fleurumnyc), Ti-leaves wrapped inside glass vessels, and gold painted birds of paradise leaves in luxurious arrangements. Monstera and palms leaves are trendy and hot. They are constantly used as wedding décor for their tremendous versatility. You can find them in centerpieces, lining the aisle and as wedding arbors (follow #palmwedding, @designsbydarenda and @ yachtflowers). Aside from the visual interest, an added bonus for any floral arrangement or installation is the long-lasting benefit of foliage.

Corporate Blooming

Green walls continue to be integrated into interior designs of hotels and corporate buildings. Amazon’s corporate building has taken adding green space to the next level (check out Amazon’s The Spheres). I’m encouraged to see floral designers increasing their volume of corporate work because companies want to bring life into the office space. It is a well-known fact that plants and flowers provide many benefits, by helping us breathe better and by improving our well-being. As employees continue to benefit from plants in their workspaces, it is very likely that they will want to carry these benefits into their homes.

The Renaissance of Floral Artistry

I’m encouraged to see the amount of new blood coming into the floral designer space. Master classes in floral design are on the rise. These opportunities are also extended to those of us who are not pro-floral designers but are curious and passionate about working with this lovely product. It is inspiring to see regular consumers taking classes to learn how to design with flowers. Floral schools such as The Flower School of New York (follow @flowerschoolny) are dedicated to hosting workshops on a weekly basis to anyone interested in floral design. Educating the general public is key in spreading the word about the joy and benefits of having beautiful floral and foliage creations in the home and beyond. These consumers are the ultimate ambassadors of our industry.

Marta Maria Garcia

Marta Maria Garcia is general manager of Designer Cut Flowers and a member of GPN's 40 Under 40 Class of 2017. She can be reached at [email protected].