A fashion-creation inspired by nature of colorful miniature Phalaenopsis orchids from Collina Strada designed by Hillary Taymour in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. Orchid-decorated Kokedama floats above. The show runs until April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from FLWR PSTL designed by Kristen Alpaugh in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The orange flowers are preserved Dendrobium and Mokara orchids painted iridescent orange. The mannequin wears a water lily hoop skirt fountain surrounded by orchids. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from FLWR PSTL designed by Kristen Alpaugh in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The exhibition is on through April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from FLWR PSTL created by Kristen Alpaugh is displayed in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory glasshouse for “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The mannequin wears a large cape of a variety of Phalaenopsis orchids, with mini ferns. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
“The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” is held at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The exhibition is on through April 21, 2024. The Haupt Conservatory constructed by Lord & Burnham Company and completed in 1902, is a spectacular glasshouse that is beautifully accented with weeping Japanese cherry trees. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from Collina Strada designed by Hillary Taymour in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The vest is made with dwarf mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus “Nana,” and the bag holds Phalaenopsis and Aliceara orchids. The exhibition is on through April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from FLWR PSTL designed by Kristen Alpaugh in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The mannequin in front wears an iridescent painted anthurium bloom and preserved orchid flowers. In back a mannequin wears a large cape of a variety of Phalaenopsis orchids in different shades of pink and purple, accented with mini ferns. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from Collina Strada designed by Hillary Taymour in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The show runs until April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from Dauphinette designed by Olivia Cheng in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. A mannequin, right, wears blue-green tresses of Huperzia, and Echeveria, on a staircase of orchids. The mannequin’s dress in back has green decorative elements that are beetles with hanging Senecio peregrinus “String of Dolphins” succulents. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
Paphiopedilum Winston Churchill orchids grow in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The exhibition is on through April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
A fashion-creation inspired by nature from Dauphinette designer Olivia Cheng in “The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion” at The New York Botanical Garden, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The mannequin’s dress in back has green decorative elements that are beetles with hanging Senecio peregrinus “String of Dolphins” succulents. The plant based outfits are made from living material. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell)
The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion is a whimsical mix of fashion and flower creations, a springlike respite from winter at the New York Botanical Garden.
The show includes multitudes of colorful, diverse orchids and accessorizing plants. And with the botanical world as muse, fashion designers Hillary Taylour for Collina Strada, Olivia Cheng for Dauphinette and Kristen Alpaugh for Flwr Pstl created fanciful works that anchor the experience inside the soaring glass of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
On entering, visitors see Dauphinette’s floral dresses on mannequins strikingly arranged on a staircase with mirrors, surrounded by orchids, cyclads, ferns and palms. The outfits are made of colorful living material, including headdresses of tillandsia, or air plants, and tresses of huperzia, a tropical clubmoss.
Flwr Pstl’s mannequins have a’60s vibe with colored sunglasses, vibrant colors and iridescent, painted anthurium plants as accessories.
Others have a more refined beauty, with one mannequin draped in preserved, orange-painted orchids with a water-lily, hoop-skirt fountain.
The last gallery showcases Collina Strada’s floral fashion using upcycled materials. Creations include an elegant, strapless dress of miniature moth orchids.
Orchids have inspired artists for centuries, and this show encourages you to immerse yourself in their splendor.
