The Mulhouse Fabric Printing Museum, in Alsace, is hosting French fashion houses Yves Saint-Laurent, agnès b. and Léonard Paris for this exhibition presenting the history of flowers in print, open until 29 September 2019.
Flowers have always been ubiquitous in the world of fashion and sewing. It’s an unwavering relationship that the Mulhouse museum has chosen to highlight, exploring floral creativity from the 18th century to the present day.
The first part of the exhibition, called ‘Natural and Invented Flowers’, looks at the models used by textile designers and highlights the impact of scientific expeditions, the rise of horticulture, and the fashion for selected species and their staging. We learn that the rose, hydrangea, lilac and tulip are among the most represented flowers.
In the second part of the exhibition, the art of representing flowers is in the spotlight. With seedlings, wreaths, baskets or bouquets, not to mention Japanese inspiration, creators compete in the imagination stakes to represent flowers while following different artistic trends.
Yves Saint-Laurent, agnès b. and Léonard Paris
In the final part, ‘The art of wearing flowers’, three fashion houses offer their interpretation of plant prints. Whether wild, garden or exotic flowers, the prints are creative and colourful at Yves Saint-Laurent, whose Paris museum has selected 10 models for the exhibition. For designer agnès b., the rose is in the spotlight with a silk square created for the occasion and on sale at the museum shop – while we rediscover the orchid through Léonard Paris, who made it his emblem.
