This Portland floral fashion show has me believing in humanity again
The Bloom Tour is happening through June 6, so you can still behold the beauty.
You’re getting this newsletter from Emily Grosvenor because you like design, travel, neurospicy stuff, and just thinking about doing things differently.
I have to tell you about what’s going on in Portland. There’s the annual Rose Festival, but also there’s a project called BLOOM TOUR pairing downtown small businesses with Portland floral artists to bring people into the city to see just how lovely it is there right now.
Ostensibly, it’s a geniusly- conceived public project to bring people back into Portland, a city that has struggled to regain its vibrant downtown in the wake of the pandemic.
But — if you go — you might discover, as I did, that people are beautiful and creativity abounds. Creativity is paramount to raising the energy.
It kicked off last week at Director Park with a floral fashion show featuring woodland floral icon Francoise Weeks (I wrote about this quiet and talented elf empress of a woman here).
It was my first floral fashion show, and gotta say I am moved beyond belief at the artistry, expertise, and vision of these designers.
There were some models, stunning, but many of the designers employed people they know — friends, teammates, daughters.
The gentle and fierce humanity with which these people walked that runway!
Here were some of my favorite moments:
The offset angel wings of this Francoise Weeks show opener
The fabulosity of this lewk, the only neutral take in the show
The everything about this floral ballerina take
The use of color in this piece recalling centuries-old dress structures
The sweetness of this little girl dressed as a dragonfly
The headdress on this rose-adorned stunner
My friend Jeremi, of Pollinate, who narrated his own appearance!
The delicate floral accents for this garden party goer (where I see it)
This floral throne and a a fern jacket
Portland businesses with floral installations
Okay, get ready. There are 47 stops on the tour. I barely got to see them all. I would do that differently — go in the morning and then do the fashion show, but I saw what I could, like:
The Ritz Carlton’s Instagram backdrop (clearly)
The subtle creepiness of this design at the Skeleton Key
This Sandwich Shop Stunner
The inventive color of this spray at my friend Kristin’s shop, Woonwinkel
All in on orchids at this surprise
Anyway, thanks for joining me on my beauty tour. If you want to see all the runway looks, I did a video of the final walk on Instagram.
P.S. I didn’t have time to write down all the names (also, clearly distracted), so if you see anyone’s work that you want credited, let me know.
📅 What I would do differently this week
Just one. I think I would have done a more adequate job preparing for Maycember, the crazy month before school lets out. We’ve had one kid in a community theater show and another in sports and running a literary festival and doing a house painting project and hosting three weekends in a row and why is this a lesson I have to relearn every year? Should I start writing myself little calendar reminders that come up before these seasons start? Like April 2: Remember, Emily, that May is the most beautiful month. Don’t pack it full.
Those floral looks are amazing!
Those fashions are like walking into a fairyland!