Put spring in your step with this season’s hottest trend: The phallic floral
Fashion has forever been obsessed with florals for spring. And rightly so, as the motif symbolises change, life, fertility, and so on. The imagery immediately conjures up a floral pattern, right? Maybe some reds and pinks, or push the boat out to a dress with a graphic of a snowdrop plastered across it. This time, however, we aren’t talking a little flowery ode to nature’s nearest and dearest; this is a full-fledged floral takeover.
This past fashion month has shown us that whatever you’re doing, do it big. Oversized buckles, belts, zips, bags, and any accessory you can get your hands on have to be of exaggerated proportion – and that includes flowers too. But what makes it so different this time round is the sculptural element, as the 2D floral print gets a booting in favour of its wildly lifelike 3-dimensional counterpart.
Pioneers of all things bigger and better, Loewe, debuted their grand floral gesture at the AW23 ‘Natural Fake’ runway, with model Emily Ratajkowski donning the Anthurium Top at Paris Fashion Week. The flower was creative director Jonathan Anderson’s motif of the month, as iterated across bras, wrapped around the body, and woven into upscaled sculptures and bustiers. Quite the confrontational flower, the single petal erects a green stem in the middle, which surely, was a conscious design choice for the boundary-bending Anderson.
The look has taken to a plethora of famous faces wardrobes, including Zendaya in a low-slung back number, but most notably on Adwoah Aboah for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party this last weekend. She graced the blue carpet in a white gown with two anthuriums as a bra attachment, which she paired with minimal makeup and a braided updo. The phallic-style flowers are everywhere right now and somehow prove that a mammoth sculpture of this flower and its striking stem is now the utmost symbol of effortless cool.
But not to fret for those who feel the phallic flower may be too large a challenge for them, as designers are coming forward with their own takes on the big bulbs. New York-based brand Tyler McGillivary has released a bouquet of their own flower tops, including The Orchid, The Pansy, and The Rose (which are also less challenging than Loewe on the wallet). Hand-painted petals and laser-cut silhouettes, the halter-strap number hails a corseted back with satin ribbon lacing to cinch. Though less sculptural, the design still supersedes 2D patterning with its oversized statement flower – and bypasses that ease into spring with a huge reminder of the season’s most coveted motif.
So, whether you’re feeling phallic or heralding a more delicate number, the question remains: how will you style your new groundbreaking florals?
