written & photography by Corinne Smith, Panacea Event Floral Design  

From the moment I opened the taxi door, it was love at first sight.  It could have been the incomparable light that has inspired the world’s greatest painters for centuries or the perfectly-manicured boxwood orbs at the front of my hotel, but I knew that the famous La Belle Ecole—L’Ecole des Fleurs at the Hotel de Crillon in the heart of Paris—would be more than just an interlude for my colleague, event designer Mark Padgett, and I.

    In Paris, our quest was simply to understand the current trends in color and fashion for floral design and take them back to our clients on the Central Coast of California. And, of course, there would be a few enjoyable meals, a little good wine, some visits to museums and a bit of shopping here and there, but primarily we were in Paris to learn.
    Paris is a constant dichotomy between of Old World romance and Ultra-Modern Chic, and far from competing with one another, these two worlds co-exist beautifully.  At the Flower School, our creations involved both old and new—for example, on a very traditional bridal bouquet, we used strands of ivy twisted around the stems instead of ribbon, with several long and elegant calla lilies twisted around each other and protruding from the pave blooms, creating a secondary element of focus.
    Our instructor, Laure Primard—former floral stylist for the runway fashions of Christian Lacroix, Emmanuel Ungaro and Karl Lagerfeld—talked about finding inspiration and trend patterns in the leading store windows of Paris.  She took us on a whirlwind stroll to show us how Parisian designers incorporate elements of the natural landscape brought indoors. 
    Twigs, moss branches, grass and stones are intermingled with small flourishes of single-variety flowers.  Moss is ever popular, and many designs include clumps of moss throughout the arrangements.  The integration of flowers and produce originated in France with floral designer Christian Tortu, although some painters have been doing it for centuries.  There is a definite nod to highly-botanical arrangements where plenty of greens are added to the flowers in a garden-style bouquet.  Some arrangements even mimic an informal garden while others arrangements are ultra stark—such as 50 very long-stemmed roses tightly encased in a very tall glass vase, no mechanics or greens, just the stems presenting a graceful and modern structural statement. 

    Color is hot, most notably orange and green—in a shade that is between Kelly green and chartreuse.  Pink, brown and peacock are prominent with the darker turquoise in a lead role rather than the lighter Tiffany blue we have used for the last two seasons.  And black is back.  One of the growing palettes had shades of rich plums but not purple.  The bohemian-style beading is strong, along with the look of Russian corset elements and the “fly girl” theme with worn leather bomber jacket, complete with ear-flapped cozy, is often repeated. 
    Design and style are a way of life for Parisians.  They are incorporated into everything from table settings, clothing, merchandising, interiors and public parks to the presentation of food on your plate at a street-side café.  A box is not a box, as the Chocolatier Ladurée shows us, but a work of art.  Presented in an array of color, edged and adorned with gold, tied in delicate ribbon, the box is every bit as appealing as the chocolate inside.  Everything is designed for both form and function.
    For a floral stylist and event designer, ah, c’est magnifique!