Its a Floral Frenzy..

Forget pretty floral dresses your mother would wear, this season floral goes masculine, in the form of jumpsuits, trousers and sharp fitted blazers. The print is so small it’s hard to tell if ifs even floral.

Fashionable since the 1920s and returning in the 1950s as Paris couturiers embrace florals on dresses with full skirts and cinched waists. Vogue announces: “News from Paris – the print restored to high favour – rosebud chiffon, poppy-peppered shantung . . .” Celia Birtwell’s dreamy, Cartoon-like flower prints gave a new lease of life to Ossie Clark’s dresses in the sixties, again giving a nod to the floral trend that’s never out of fashion.

Mostly seen in Spring/Summer shows as a tribute to the oncoming season, SS10 was no different, mainly seen during New York fashion week, this time we saw a new twist on it in the form of small and intensified printed floral on more masculine clothes like trouser suits and blazers.

Paul Smith’s SS10 collection included the print on men’s shirts. Anna Sui leads the way for womenswear, with dainty florals splashed all over her catwalk in the form of bright colours, embroidered appliqué and small dainty prints. Thakoon clashed his florals and contrasted the look by having the models wear black bondage heels. Barbara Tfank included pastel coloured floral dresses and Versace and Derek Lam went for sophisticated, lady-like floral garments. Betsy Johnson, Mulberry and Donna Karen were just a few of the other designers also incorporating it into their collection.

The iconic Liberty print has undoubtedly had a major influence on the designers print this season. The design studio create new and re-work classic prints every season, “inspired by nature, architecture, our heritage and the store itself”. It has also recently had high profile collaborations with Nike and Gap.

Celebrities are getting caught up in the floral frenzy; Helena Christensen looks sweet and relaxed in a pastel, belted tunic during the launch of the Matthew Williamson for H&M collection and Sienna Miller works the trend with a black jacket and ankle boots. The high street is also picking up on the trend. Wear these cute liberty print shorts from Topshop with a plain vest top and OTK boots for day and a fitted blazer and heels for night. Miss Selfridge also does a smart grey and black floral blazer and snap up one of the pretty floral scarves from ASOS. This bold dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs will make heads turn wherever you go, give it an edge with studded ankle boots.