THE
BRIEF

Celebrity florist, Larry Walshe was commissioned by M&G Investments to create a bespoke dress made of fresh flowers for a photo shoot to celebrate their eighth consecutive year as title sponsor of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

 

Seeking inspiration from the M&G Investments Garden, conceived by award winning landscape designer James Basson, the design has strong Maltese and Mediterranean references which we wanted to include into our flower dress concept.

Creating a piece set within a quarry, with its own ecology, from coastal to woodland, the James Basson design has strong masculine references so whilst embracing the spirit of the piece, we researched and developed a scheme to compliment using soft and seductive silhouettes and naturalistic embellishment to provide texture and fluidity.

Chelsea Flower Show Dress 2017 | Installations | Larry Walshe Studios Chelsea Flower Show Dress 2017 | Installations | Larry Walshe Studios Chelsea Flower Show Dress 2017 | Installations | Larry Walshe Studios
The Final Creation

Inspired by the Mediterranean and traditional Maltese attire, a modern and effortlessly beautiful interpretation was created and adorned with thousands of fresh flowers.

 

A playful interpretation on a traditional tabard-style garment, the piece was embellished with thousands of fresh flowers using our developed floral embroidery technique. Emanating the water references seen in the garden design, the delicate fabrics used soften masculine references conceived by James Basson by creating an incredibly flattering silhouette.

Our involvement in the photoshoot, which developed schemes for both lifestyle and tabloid markets delivered record press coverage, most recently generating over 365 stories across the media from Vogue, The Times and The Guardian through to a host of national and international broadcasters, providing a potential brand reach of almost 3.8bn.

" When you thought it could not get any better - so different to previous years but equally as striking and a real conversation piece! " - M&G Investments
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