Heads turned when our fresh floral mannequins came to life over the Easter weekend at Bal Harbour Shops in Miami. 

Once our Fleurs de Villes ROSÉ trail of 21 fresh flower installations wrapped, a handful of talented local Fleuristes turned their attention to creating stunning fresh floral headpieces. It was as if the mannequins suddenly blossomed and stepped off their podiums when models wearing intricate floral headpieces paraded around the outdoor shopping centre. With shopping bags in hand, they showed off the latest Spring dresses from collections including Balmain, Oscar de la Renta, and Silvia Tcherassi.

INES NAFTALI

The artistry behind these spectacular headpieces was awe-inspiring. But the Fleuristes also had to consider the weight and balance of their wearable “hats” for models walking around Bal Harbour Shops. Models wearing Ines Naftali’s creations literally stopped traffic. A crown of pink  garden roses, gloriosa lilies, snowball, heather, helleborus orientalis, kalanchoe and more was tied atop a sleek red Oscar de la Renta dress. The model next to her wore an orange Silvia Tcherassi dress with an exotic headpiece featuring anthurium, spray roses, carnations, cymbidium orchids, fritillaria and more 

This year feels like the perfect time to revive the old European Christian tradition of wearing a “bonnet” to celebrate the arrival of spring, and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption. The first bonnets were circles of leaves and flowers to highlight the cycle of the seasons. These festive crowns caught on in the United States after the American Civil War as women came out of mourning and celebrated the renewal of Spring by wearing bright colours and flowers. Irving Berlin popularized the style with his song Easter Parade in 1933. Fifteen years later, the song hit new heights when it was featured in the musical film, Easter Parade, starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire.

ST GERMAIN DESIGN & CO

St Germain Design & Co took a fashion forward approach by topping the strong shoulders of Balmain dresses with glorious pink and green blooms. The effect was like a living cap on a sleek fragrance bottle - so chic! Blooms used in both headpieces included peonies, hellebore, hyacinth, panicle hydrangea and ranunculus.

ANISKA CREATIONS

The talented Fleuristes at Aniska Creations are known for their glorious headdresses. Made from Keira garden roses, snowberry, and colour enhanced tulips and trailing ruscus, their mint and green design topped a dress from Lafayette 148 New York.