If you have picked up a magazine, attended a well-styled event or watched a fashion show recently, you’d know that flowers have become big business. From Raf Simons’ walls of roses to Toni Maticevski’s orchid-embellished models, from the red poppies flanking the Tower of London to Manuscript‘s own flower beards, flowers are being used in more innovative ways than ever before, with artists usurping traditional florists in this new artistic floral landscape. Author Olivier Dupon sets out to document the best floral artworks and profile their makers in his new book, Floral Contemporary. We spoke with the author about the book’s creation and why flowers have become so popular all over again.

MITCHELL OAKLEY SMITH Why did you set out to write this book?
OLIVIER DUPON While working on my previous books – The New Artisans (2011), The New Jewelers (2012) and The New Pâtissiers (2013) – I kept noticing that flowers were often used as sources of inspiration for designs, and furthermore used outside of their usual context: edible flowers in pastry, photo shoots of jewellery pieces set amongst floral installations, for example. And then of course I witnessed the emergence of floral artistry occurring in the broader fashion world. The very first show of Raf Simons on starting his tenure at Christian Dior was memorable for its partition walls made of thousands of multi-coloured roses. Then many other fashion designers similarly featured flowers in their editorial advertisements. In other words, flowers have emerged as a main player in the lifestyle arena: they are the obvious choice when looking to beautify simply anything. Besides that, I had no doubt a book displaying gorgeous arrangements could only be appealing: the person least into flowers would not even be able to deny they are nice.

MOS Why is floral design having such a renaissance?
OD ‘Lifestyle’ has become such a big business entity, where floral art, food, music, the arts and design are now all correlated. One borrows from the other and cross-pollination is happening. For one, flowers not only have the capacity to beautify an interior, they are also therapeutic. They can bring a soothing touch to a non-organic environment, and let’s not forget that when fragrant, they then trigger most of our senses (sight, touch and smell). For all these reasons, I believe flowers instill joy beyond working perfectly as an arresting focal point in any room, be it an extravagant installation or a simple bunch handpicked along the roadside. No matter how big, an arrangement will always prompt people to stop and smell the roses.

MOS What differentiates floral design today?
OD The sheer creativity on display compounded by the possibility to use technologies that did not exist a few years ago or existing technologies that would not have been even considered a few years ago. Add to this the fact that floral artistry is the only artistry to involve a living component (and as a result, the ultimate delicacy), and you get the recipe for never-seen-before creations. On one hand, you have the true artists, who literally create floral ‘art’ and play with the ephemerality of the subject matter (the notion of beauty after death in particular). On the other hand, the designers who have revamped floristry (either through re-interpretation of the past – still-life-style of Old Masters, or by freeing flowers through organic arrangements – the ‘just hand picked’ look). It is almost as if anything goes, however with a commanding respect for the medium.

MOS How did you go about selecting the artists featured?
OD I already knew some of them from my previous and ongoing research, and it did not take me long to identify more names who would be important for my project. For example, seeing an amazing floral display in a window or in a hotel lobby would prompt me to investigate its creator. I also wanted to feature an array of floral ‘makers’ with different creative approaches – the artists, the designers, the poets – so as to showcase the variety of what is now happening in floral designs. It is no more just floristry per se, but taking the medium out of its box. Just to name a few: Japanese Azuma Makoto’s ebullient mind concocts jaw dropping projects; French Baptiste Pitou is the maestro for neo-classic elegance; British Rebecca Louise Law whose giant installations are mesmerising; Brazilian Lucia Milan the go-to floral designer for Sao Paolo’s rich and famous; American Emily Thompson who can claim the White House on her ‘customer’ portfolio; American Sarah Winward and Ariel Dearie who channel old masters; Australian Doctor Lisa Cooper, whose floral compositions are at the centre of a mixed media approach (dance, painting, jewellery); Dutch Saskia de Valk who has mastered simplicity; German Björn Kroner with his foray into mixing flowers with other media (e.g. papier mâché); Spanish Bornay who pushes the aesthetic limits of floral compositions; Harijanto Setiawan winning “Designer of the Year” at the prestigious President’s Design Award… I like to think that the 38 artists featured are all leaders in their field in one way or the other.

MOS Who might appreciate this book?
OD For a start, garden and flower enthusiasts. Then, due to the strong artistic and design approach, anyone with an interest in contemporary creation; add to that readers of my previous books who have liked them. And last but not least, anyone enjoying beauty.

Floral Contemporary, by Olivier Dupon, is published by Thames & Hudson and released in October 2014.