Foliage, flora, vegetation – the most prevalent motif for Spring 2020 sprouted from plant life. It doesn’t really come as a surprise, given that flaunting one’s eco-credentials was the domineering marketing gimmick, as Vanessa Friedman pointed out over at the New York Times. And with forests all over the world literally on fire at unprecedented levels (it’s not just the Amazon, FYI), the motif could not be more timely.
However, that’s not to say that the multitude of designers – everyone from the sublime Noir Kei Ninomiya to eclectic Marni – was working with saving plant life in mind. The former desired to go back to “beginnings” and of creation, and enlisted the avant-garde botanical artist Azuma Makoto to create fantastical headdresses fashioned out of real plants to complement his own abstract creations, some of which resembled dandelions, clouds and lichen.
Over at Marni, creative director Francesco Risso is really coming into his own; his latest collection came across as compellingly confident and uplifting with its whimsical prints and exuberant colours. He tapped on multidisciplinary hair artist Julien d’Ys, who created floral sculptures atop the models’ locks using a mix of clay and dried blossoms.
In New York, designers tried their hand at incorporating greens in a more everyday manner, such as Collina Strada, who staged a feel-good show with her usual cast of friends and family that came across like a farmer’s market, with produce all sourced from local initiatives that aim to reduce food waste.
Sealing the deal on the (literally) green movement was of course Jennifer Lopez, who closed the Versace show in an updated version of the infamous jungle-print chiffon Versace gown she first wore to the Grammy Awards in 2000. If the ongoing #Jungalow home decor movement had a human face…
But we can’t all be J Lo of course. The most feasible way to pull off the trend? Take notes from Kate Spade – creative director Nicola Glass sent her models out garnished with armfuls of plants and vegetables, and they looked as if they’d just returned from a fruitful trip to the grocer’s. Lovely.
