Inspired by flowers

This summer I've been feeling inspired by flowers particularly as this year I planted flowers in tubs in my back garden and watched every episode of the televised RHS Chelsea flower show 2015.

I started to think that I will use the structure of the flowers and the colours as a starting point for my next designs.

I was pleased to discover that the English designer Paul Smith has been going to the RHS flower show every year for a decade and uses the gardens and it's plants and displays for inspiration. In the past he has designed a range of suits after seeing flowers in the colours red, yellow, blue and pink. 

Last year Paul did  a watercolour painting of a garden called My Relaxed Garden! Which he submitted to the flower shows charity auction.

Paul Smith's My Relaxed Garden, May 2014

Paul mentioned to journalists in a press talk that that the bold colours always sell in smaller numbers compared to the muted tones but that the bright designs are the ones that keep the media and fashion world interested in the brand. This is a useful piece of advice I think any designer can make use of. Much like a garden the bright colours are the pops of colour that are interesting and the the green of the leaves and foliage or grass is what pulls the design together. Interesting it is navy blue that is considered to do that job in the fashion world.  I found this interesting photo of Paul giving a talk to journalists, taken by a journalist who was in the audience listening to him talk about how he turns the floral inspiration into a design, in this case a sock design. 

Photo from blog.theenduringgardener.com

Here are some examples of designs by Paul Smith which look like they may have been inspired by the flower show visits.

This t-shirt is a wonderful clash of bright floral colours

This dress has a pretty spring time floral pattern 

Here are a few Paul Smith socks designs

 This spotty mens's socks uses the bright colours with the navy to hold it together and tone down the brightness

 Socks with stripes of colour

Flowers can inspire floral designs which take the shape and colour of the petals into account or the designs can be alot more abstract and simple. I like the idea of experimenting with designs inspired by flowers so I will be blogging about some of my own designs.