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Is it frustrating to express
yourself in a medium that dies
almost immediately?
“Well, that’s part of the magic
of it. Flowers die, but the part
you’re excited about is the
ephemeral part. How they’re
beautiful and enchanting.”
What catches your eye
at market?
“An oddity. A branch-y or
irregular shape rather
than a highly produced crop
flower that comes out looking
identical.”
What makes the perfect
arrangement?
“A wad of one spectacular
flower in a great vase. I like cut
Beloved by Kardashians and Hadids and dedicated water conservationists, Venus et
Fleur sells roses that stay fresh for 12 months—in a Parisian hat box. How is that pos-
sibly possible? Founders Seema Bansal and Sunny Chadha gave us the answer: “We
have a farm in Ecuador where we grow our flowers—it’s close to the equator, and
Ecuadorian flowers can last much longer than in other parts of the world. We’re
talking 7- to 10-day blooms. We cut the roses at their peak state, an aesthetic point
where the rose looks fullest. It varies, but this normally occurs about six months after
planting. During the harvesting process we remove most of the innards of the rose
and fill it with a proprietary wax-based solution to stunt the growth. Our roses can
last up to a year without water. Sometimes longer. And they smell wonderful because
the rose oil is still in there. We don’t take that part out.” —BRENNAN KILBANE
The Eternal Roses
FLORIST
THEFASHION
glorify your outside. Also,
flowers are sex organs. It’s all
about attracting pollinators
and seed dispersers.”
Did Coachella give flower
crowns a bad name?
“Not at all. It makes sense.
Fairs and festivals are places
where people have always
worn flowers. And there’s a
history of it in music [Free
begins to sing ‘San Francisco’
by Scott McKenzie]: ‘If you’re
going to San Francisco/ Be
sure to wear some flowers in
your hair.’ I saw that Bob Dylan
documentary [Rolling Thunder
Revue]—throughout the whole
thing he wore this cap with
flowers festooned on the side.
There are people who want
to be snarky about them, but
flower crowns don’t seem
to be disappearing. And when
you look back in fashion over
all of the decades, flowers
have always been utilized
in various capacities. It’s all
good.” —B. K.
FOR JOSEPH FREE, FASHION DESIGN SCHOOL GAVE WAY TO A DEPARTMENT STORE JOB
THAT BECAME FLOWER STORE JOBS THAT BECAME RUNWAY COMMISSIONS.
(OR AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN GET)
For five seasons now, Free has collaborated with
the gauzy, ethereal Rodarte on otherworldly
floral creations like these. From top: Rodarte
spring 2018 and spring 2019.
80 ALLURE SEPTEMBER 2019
FROM TOP:
JOSEPHINE SCHIELE
; IMAXTREE (2)
