6 ★ FTWeekend 5 March/6 March 2016

Style

Report | Grace Cook talks to the emerging US labels making an art of the fashion understatement

The quiet Americans

I t was only a matter of time beforethe fine art of floristry entered themodern, modem age. With littlebut Interflora for broad competi-tion, a host of innovative compa-

nies has come up with new ways to sendand receive blooms without the need fora shopfront. From one-off, one-clickpurchases to monthly or annual sub-scription services, one of the oldest cus-tomer-facing businesses is finally expe-riencing itsdisruptivemoment.

The new ventures include everythingfrom high-end outfits supplying thelikes of Tom Ford to small, eco-mindedenterprises — Common Farm Flowers,Green and Gorgeous, or the quietlyexclusive Garden Gate Flower Company— ferrying scented roses direct fromcountrygardenstoyourfrontdoor.

Of course it makes sense. Themark-up on flowers is famously steep,absorbing the florist’s buy price at mar-ket, but also the rent of their fancy shop.It’s not hard to see the appeal of anonline outfit such as Bloom and Wild,where a delicate selection of lisianthusand pale pink roses is sent through the

post in a package designed to fit throughyour letterbox. For convenience alone,it certainly beats standing in front of astation flower stall, mentally pricing upabouquet.

Aron Gelbard, the company’s co-founder, says: “There is nothing worsethan sending a bouquet of flowers onlyfor the recipient to be out. And there iscertainly nothing romantic aboutqueueing to pick up your flowers from apost office or depot.” Indeed. Their UK-wide operation offers functional butpretty bouquets in weekly and monthlysubscriptionsstarting from£50.

A similarly targeted service is offeredby Petalon, a charmingly homespunenterprise set up by Florence Kennedy,whose distinction is loose-tied naturalbouquets delivered around London byhipsters on bicycles (her husband Jamesis the founder of bike brand KennedyCity Bicycles). “We don’t need to pay forpetrol, the congestion charge or park-ing,” says Kennedy. “We only offer twochoices of bouquets each week andthey’re always at a set price, includingdelivery and a donation to the bee col-lective. This is to keep the bouquets sea-sonalandtoreducewaste.”

By contrast, upscale Flowerbx is theNet-a-Porter of online florists, completewith its own liveried van racing aroundLondon and fashionable clientele,including Manolo Blahnik, Burberry

and Louis Vuitton. (Mark Sebba, theformer chief executive of Net-a-Porter,recently joined the company’s boardand will oversee expansion to Paris andGermany.)

Set up by former Tom Ford PR direc-tor, Adam Wilkie, the company’s USP issingle varietal blooms — cherry blos-som, parrot tulips — in large quantities,shipped directly from Holland to awarehouse in west London and, fromthere, to the city’s smartest addresses.Wilkie explains: “These days we buy

everything online using Amazon Primeor Ocado. Why not flowers? This way westock only what the customer orders,there’s no waste, and since we have noshop we’re able to pass a lot of the sav-ings on to the customer.” Its subscrip-tion service is proving popular, “espe-cially for people buying a year’s worth offlowers for a friend’s birthday or a wed-dinggift”.

Flowerbxisparticularlywellplacedtooffer insight into the perennial love

affair between fashion and flowers.“Working in the fashion world, no onelikesbig,naff,mixedbouquetswithtonsof filler,” Wilkie continues. “When TomFord gets a bouquet he throws out theextras, and puts the roses or the hydran-gea together.” It’s all about the singlevarietal. “It’s themoodof themoment.”

Flowers are as vital to the fashionindustry as Florentine leather factories,Parisian lacemakers or Instagram. Youcan’t get anything more fashion thanflowers, darling. To wit, Burberry hassetupaflowerstallat thebrand’sRegentStreetheadquarters in timeforMother’sDay, and Interflora recently designed an“enchantedforest”ofhydrangea,orchidand magnolia branches for Julien Mac-donald’s AW16 catwalk presentation.Set designer Michael Howells says:“Flora and fauna have been an inspira-tion throughout art history. We see it inthe history of fashion as well, from Mad-ame de Pompadour’s floral extrava-gance to the work of John Galliano andphotographerNickKnight.”

Certain blooms are deemed accepta-ble by the influential — springtime blos-som branches, peonies, hydrangeas —while other elements — spray paintedeucalyptus, overly fussy or ostentatiousarrangements — are considered beyondthe pale. “Having loved dahlias foryears, I am glad that others no longerscorn them,” says Howells. He has moreexperience than most with fashionablefloristry, having designed sets for JohnGallianoatDior forseveralyears.

Vic Brotherson of Scarlet & Violet —supplier of gorgeous, voluptuous

bouquets to most of London’s fashioneditors and designers — remembers herformer boss Nikki Tibbles, of floristWild At Heart, urging her staff to readVogue, “so that we knew what was goingon, who was who, and how to spell theirnames”. Still, she wishes fashion folkwere a little more adventurous.“Designers get very focused on particu-lar flowers — ‘These are the kinds Stella[McCartney] likes, the bouquet mustinclude roses and hydrangea.’ What, nofoliage? Really?” She adds, “JasperConranlovesaparrot tulip.”

Despite the challenges to her indus-try, Brotherson is holding out againstthe rush to disrupt. “There’s frustrationthat you can’t order our flowers online,but for me it would mean having tomake the same thing over and overaccordingtoapicture.Webuiltourweb-site with shopping functionality and inthe end I just bailed. Now we go to mar-ketandbuywhateverwewant.”

Her resistance is also anchored in herbelief that good florists — like good hair-dressers — occupy a special status in ourlives. “It’s a very personal thing. Flowersare usually sent with a message, even ifit’s not sentimental. I think it’s impor-tant that the person who speaks to theclient on the phone goes on to make thebouquet according to that conversation.We do flowers for whole dynasties;grandmother, mother, daughter. Peoplewant to have communication with thesame person, continuing that relation-ship. They want to pick up the phone.”Some of us, then, still want to actuallysay itwithflowers.

Make mother’s day — with easeShopping A bunch of start-ups are making flowers fitfor fashion available to usall. Charlotte Sinclair reports

The Row

Rosetta GettyBefore moving upstateeight years ago, Roche,38, lived in Brooklyn,working on her thenchildrenswear labelmade from Japaneseorganic cotton.Encouraged by herclients, who includedactresses MaggieGyllenhaal and Milla

Jovovich, Roche launched her women’s labelin 2011 in the quietest way possible: sharinga 12-piece collection with an intimate groupof friends and supporters. “It was tiny for afew years,” says Roche.

She has signed to an internationalshowroom and word is spreading — RyanRoche is now stocked by 55retailers. While she plans tooperate as a full lifestyle brand,she will remain true to thebrand’s DNA. “The heart andsoul of our brand will always beour knitwear,” she says of heraesthetic — staples includecashmere two-pieces and knittedevening gowns. “Two of my topsellers [the fisherman sweaterand a fringed cashmere knit] arethings I introduced in my firstseason. When I fall in love withsomething that a designer does,I’m heartbroken to see the nextseason it’s gone. It’s always beenmy philosophy to be consistent.”

“Every time I have anupcoming meeting ortrip, I think aboutwhat pieces wouldmake my life easier,”says mother-of-fourRosetta Getty, 46.“With my clothes, Iwant to tell a story byreimagining classic

styles in a way that’s appealing towomen like myself.” As a model, Gettywas catapulted into the fashionindustry aged 14, shuttling betweenSilver Lake, LA, and Europe to pose forBruce Weber and Paul Jasmin. Nowmarried to the Brothers & Sisters actorBalthazar Getty, great-grandson ofthe oil tycoon J PaulGetty, she launchedher label for autumn2014, having closedher Rosetta Millingtonchildrenswear label in2001 after 10 years.

She has a roster ofhigh-profile friends towear her designs, amongthem her childhood bestfriend Patricia Arquette,for whom Getty created adress for the 2015Academy Awards, whereArquette took home bestsupporting actress for

Gabriela Hearst

Lisianthus and pink rosesare sent through the postin a package designed to fitthrough your letterbox

That Mary-Kate andAshley Olsen havemanaged to create oneof the most covetedlabels while remainingrelatively under theradar is astonishing.Rather than becoming aflash-in-the-pancelebrity fashion line,

the former actresses, 29, have proved slow andsteady wins: after almost a decade in businessthey launched their first retail store in LA’sMelrose Place last year. “We like doing thingsslowly, seeing how people respond to things, andlearning from our mistakes,” says Ashley. “Wetry not putting it all out there.”

The twins, who took over creative directionafter losing Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski to Hermèsin 2014, offer garments that have little

intimation of gender. Ready-to-wearstaples include cashmere and silk-blend capes, silk-satin camisoles andloosely tailored trousers (the label’sname alludes to the tailoring of SavileRow). “Retailers have seen that aquiet brand like The Row can be oneof their best performers,” says MariaLemos of Rainbowwave.

“A lot of ourproduct is madeby hand in Italy,and when you’remaking thingsby hand youhave limitationsand timings.You cannot rushit,” says Hearst,39. “I think itcomes from my

ranching background. If you are in themiddle of nowhere and really off thegrid, everything has a purpose.”

A former model, Hearst was born inUruguay, during the civic-militarydictatorship, and spent most of hersummers on the family ranch herdingcattle. The aesthetic of the label shefounded in 2015 draws from both herupbringing in South America andManhattan residency: matter-of-fact,wearable garments with a rustic edge,translating into an unfinished hem on ageorgette gown, or teaming elegantdresses with heavy boots.

Hearst and her husband also managethe family’s livestock estate, and willthis season use their own wool in hercollections for the first time.

A revolution is taking place inAmerican fashion. With afocus on fit and durability,and collections built onbasic staples and knitwear

in neutral hues, this new breed of con-temporary luxury labels is filling themost stylish wardrobes — and its dis-creet brand of understated and simplefemininity isvaluedaboveall.

The Row — founded by Mary-Kateand Ashley Olsen in 2006 — has built afollowing for essaying “relaxed andtimeless elegance”. Gabriela Hearstdescribeshergarmentsas“classicwitharustic edge”. Ryan Roche refers to herknitwear as “pared-back and minimaland essential”, while Rosetta Gettydefines her eponymous line as “refinedand easy to style for effortless dressing”.

Set in 12 acres in New York state,Roche’s barn-conversion studio is a rus-tic space punctuated with oak worksur-faces and mood boards on whitewashedwalls. Now in her eighth season, shetakes her palette seriously and consid-ers each collection an addition to a life-style look. “It’s part of the conversation,how the new colours are going to work

with the season before,” she says.“It’s another reason my custom-ers love my collection, as it’s soeasy for them, everything is har-monious and all the shadesworktogether.”

Each of these labels focuseson building a wardrobe ratherthan offering trend-drivenlooks. Their success is in theiruniformity — “we’re consistentwith the way that we build onour collections,” says AshleyOlsen. “You’re adding piecesrather than discarding andstarting afresh every season,”saysMariaLemos, founderof thewhole-sale showroom and communicationsagency Rainbowwave, which representsHearst. “Pieces fromthesebrandsaren’tlike a statement dress that after a whileyou feel you’ve worn to too many par-ties.Theseare investmentpieces.”

Getty, who is based in LA, uses fabricsthat can be worn throughout the year. “Imay include a luscious cashmere for thefall season, or a fun, easy lace for spring— most of the fabrics are cross-sea-sonal,” she says. “My goal is to introduceclothing where the worth lies in thedesignandfabrication.”

With sweaters costing from £700,durability and practicality are vital.Roche uses the finest Mongolian cash-mere, but her sweaters can be machinewashed on a delicate cycle and tumbledried. “I don’t want it to be too pre-cious,” she says. “I want women to be able toreally love itandlive in it.”

After testing the prototypes of hernew handbag line, Hearst improved thehardware and closure of her “Nina” bagbecause it was opening too many timesin a way she didn’t like. And when she

became concerned that a waxed vestfrom her line would dirty other clothes,she wore it for a week to ensure it didn’t.“No disclaimer tag needed,” she says.Practical details are also considered:pockets must be big enough for aniPhone 6; shoes are made with double-weldedsoles for longevity.

Ryan Roche uses thefinest cashmere, but hersweaters can be machinewashed and tumble dried

Ryan Roche

Richard Linklater’s Boyhood.Getty is a designer who

opts not to dictate: “Many ofthe pieces are designed to beworn in multiple ways —ties that can be knottedclosely to the body, drapedor even left undone,” shesays. Signatures includeelongated tunics withfluid lines, worn overloose-fitting trousers.

Lemos, and this season will be availableat Selfridges. “It’s the way we live now;wewant lessbutwewantgoodquality.”

Each of these women, who have ahugely aspirational lifestyle, makes anexcellent advertisement for their label:Getty works from her mid-centurymansion perched atop Runyon Canyon

ParkintheHollywoodHills,Rochefromher 17th-century barn studio. Hearstuses local artisans to weave woolsheared from sheep on her family’s Uru-guayan ranch. There’s a simplicity totheir idyllic way of life: swathed in cash-mere and surrounded by nature. Sweat-ers, it seems,haveserioussellingpower.

Luxury fabrics, and choosing to domuch of their manufacturing in NewYork, mean higher prices, but despitethis, these garments sell — very well.The Row is a bestseller on Matchesfash-ion.com, and Roche’s $980 fishermansweater sold out at Barneys this season.Getty “does incredibly well online”, says

Delphiniums

Getty; Wireimage; Rex