Fall 2012 Eroticism Embraces Flowers at Nina Ricci

Flowers, fauna and Mother Nature accompanied by model Kati Nescher star in Nina Ricci’s Fall/Winter 2012/13 campaign, lensed by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin. Front and center are the new La Rue handbags made of alligator skin — a product objectionable to some AOC readers.

Nescher faces off against the contrasting botanical watercolor painting illustrated by artist Jo Ratcliffe.

Exotic Nature @ Florabotanica

The eroticism of nature makes any play for attention in Balenciaga’s new fragrance Florabotanica, due out in September. Aimed at a younger audience than Balenciaga Paris, the scent was created by perfumers Oliver Polge and Jean-Christophe Hérault, who worked in collaboration with Balenciaga’s designer Nicolas Ghesquière.

Kristen Stewart is the face of Florabotanica, because she embodies the modernity of the scent with her unique sensibility and intelligence. The campaign is photographed by Steven Meisel.

Cleve West’s Brewin Dolphin Garden @ Chelsea Flower Show

Image by Martin PopeInnocence is deceiving writes The Financial Times about this year’s winner of top garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

While the world is counting floors of Dubai’s new Burj Khalifa, I’m reading about the hymenocallis flower, which is cultivated in the Persian Gulf but according to wiki is a genus of plants in the family amaryllidaceae, now cultivated in the Middle East.

Hymenocallis means “beautiful membrane” in Greek, which refers to the staminal corona that connects the stalks of the stamens for a portion of their length.

The New World hymenocallis flower is said to be the chief muse for Dubai’s grand tower the Burj Khalifa.The plants have spectacular flowers and some species are known as spider lilies. The Pacific Bulb Society confirms the New World genus of hymenocallis. It’s believed that the hymenocallis flower traveled to the Middle East from Latin America, Mexico and other parts of the New World.

There’s no doubt that the hymenocallis flower is an inspiration in Islamic art and today’s gardens. But her origins appear to be from another side of the world. Appearances are often deceiving, and mere plant websites may be wrong.