Fashion has long been inspired by nature. In this specialized workshop natural materials and floral arrangements take their inspiration from Haute Couture. Create show stopping purses, shoes, jewelry, headpieces and fabric from flowers, greens, fruits and seed pods.
Françoise is recognized for her innovations in wearable floral art and will emphasize her knowledge of the mechanics and material sourcing that are the springboard for stunning creativity.
Dresses
Whether you would like to make a floral garment for a show-stopping window display, to participate in a competition or even to wear for a special occasion, the techniques you will learn can be adapted and applied to a myriad of ideas. As this is a very time consuming project, students will work in pairs to make the dress form for a mannequin and collaborate on the design and application of leaves, flowers and seed pods. Students have been requesting this class and we are excited to be able to offer it to you!
Purses
Françoise takes you through the process of constructing mechanics for functional and decorative purses. Learn how to artfully layer your purse with foliage, petals and textures. Give your work a new perspective by offering your clients something new and different.
Shoes
Create bespoke shoes for fashion shows, showers, weddings or retail environments. You can never have too many shoes! This floral footwear may be built from wire or by giving old shoes new life. Learn to look at exquisite foliage in a new light, as a way to cover the base and then accent your designs using interesting botanicals like tendrils, succulents, de-constructed flowers and textures.
Jewelry
Botanical materials have all the sparkle, movement and gesture of gems and metals. Learn to innovate jewelry design using wire as a base for rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Piece together the tiny and often overlooked bits of texture occurring in seed pods, tendrils, succulents, herbs and tropical greenhouse favorites. These adornments stun at galas, weddings and on the catwalk.
Headpieces
Françoise is known for her avant garde headpieces. Her dedication to unfailing mechanics and materials exploration is the key to these pieces of sculpture. Her knowledge will be shared as you construct flexible armatures and your creativity expands as you build intricate and cascading arrangements from foliage, bark, bundles of berries, succulents and flowers. These dramatic headpieces show off all the tools and tips of the trade that Françoise imparts.
Flexible Floral Fabric
Think scarves, belts, wristbands and open ended possibilities… You will learn the techniques involved in creating flat expanses of botanical “fabric” that can be worn and styled into various shapes. This is a wonderful opportunity to really explore the vast amount of texture that nature provides!