Sustainability is a hot topic, but is it a trend or a requirement? That's also what London-based Floral Designer Yan Skates of Bespoke Flowers and Netflix's The Big Flower Fight asks himself when looking back at the Interflora World Cup that took place from September 7 to 9 in Manchester, UK. "Sustainability was definitely top of the list in terms of trends, but the organization did also ask for that, so is it a trend or is it a requirement?" In this article, he tells us more about the trends he saw at this large floristry competition.
No floral foam
According to Skates, florists are all looking for new ways of sustaining flowers without floral foam. Therefore, they look for varieties that last better without much water. "The answer to that seems to be universally the same from wherever you come from in the world - exotics. Bromeliads, succulents, orchids, Anthuriums, Heliconias - all strong flowers that we know can last long in test tubes because that is how they get delivered to the florists. The only one really bucking that trend was Nicolaus Peters from Germany - who also won the Interflora World Cup, with his impressive suspended 1st task entirely picked from a local flower farm or English cottage flowers."
Yarn and wool are out
Skates was also expecting to see a lot of yarn. "I'm sure everything used to be covered in yarn in previous years, but not a bit on show this time. So yarn and wool is out!"
Naturally flowing mechanics
There was also quite a move towards naturally flowing mechanics, he continues. "So even if something was rigid, it would look fluid. The 3rd task did have waves in its title, so that might explain that."
Large interest
In general, SKates noticed that there was a large interest for the designs. "The green with all the demonstrations were packed all day on all days, but there was plenty of engagement with the stalls for the competitors. Although not allowed to approach them, the Competition Moment Makers in their Here To Help t-shirts did their very best to answer all the questions from the audience. I did get the feeling the crowd was very knowledgeable, and I spotted several keen competitors past and present amongst the large groups of onlookers."
For more information:
Yan Skates
Bespoke Flowers
www.yanskates.co.uk
www.twitter.com/Yanskates
http://instagram.com/yanskates#
http://www.pinterest.com/yanskates/bespoke-flowers-by-yan-skates/