Fleurotica
A Benefit for Garfield Park Conservatory
Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory is one of Chicago’s best kept secrets and home to one of the nation’s largest collection of botanical treasures. It has also been my happy place ever since I can remember.
Each year, the Conservatory hosts a gala fashion show featuring some of Chicago’s most creative floral designers. The challenge is to make garments entirely from plants, flowers, and natural materials. Proceeds benefit the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance. The Garfield Park event team plans months in advance to produce this spectacular event!
Though the show has been around for many years, I first participated in 2018. I love seeing how the other designers take on the challenge of creating a living, moving sculpture, and hoping it won’t fall apart half way down the runway, leaving some poor model like a tossed floral salad.
These are some favorites from the 2018 and 2019 shows!
From left to right: Honey Street Flowers, Flora Chicago, Anemone Chicago, Melinda Whitmore/Vituvian Fine Art Studio, The Flower Witch, Chalet Nursery
Melinda Whitmore/ Vitruvian Fine art Studio, Noble Terraria, A Hunt Design, Kiola Millan Designs
Behind the scenes, it feels like an episode of Project Runway. With only an hour to get the models into their dresses, it gets hectic, to say the least.
My dress for the 2018 show was a flirty and fierce baby doll dress—a nod to the high waisted dresses from the Regency era. The skirt was made with feathery agonis foliage with purple kale peeking through, like a ruffly petticoat. My model Sydney rocked it on the runway with her leafy leather booties.
Some of my favorite parts of the dress were in the details. I designed shoulder epaulettes from calla lilies and rubber plant leaves which I bent by taping heavy gauge wire to the spine of each leaf. The bodice was detailed with hypericum berries that were individually strung and sprayed gold.
For the 2019 show, I took inspiration from the season and from my beautiful model Rachel who became Demeter, goddess of the harvest. I wanted the dress to look with like an elegant, couture gown with a bit of sex appeal.
My model Rachel, a good sport, gracefully wore the heavy floral halter and the skirt that kept pulling. This is me on the floor hoisting up the hoops of her skirt. She was taller than I imagined, go figure, so we had lots of adjustments.
Rachel on the runway!! So many varieties of flowers and foliages: vanda orchids, naranja amaryllis, cockscomb, tannon berries, Majestic palms, pampas grass and bird of paradise leaves. Not to mention Indian corn, grapes and pomegranates. Only the best for my harvest goddess!
From left to right, gala co-chair Erika Summers, “Demeter,” Jen Van Valkenburg, Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance President & CEO, "Mermaid" by Elena Masherava of SaniMar Decor Studio. and Amy Rule, co chair.
Above is my homage to iconic, punk designer, Vivian Westwood, for the 2022 Show. Nymph amaryllis and shell pink anthurium adorned a preserved beach leaf, lunaria, and fern gown.
Photos Courtesy of Brian Kinyon Photography.