Forget Chanel’s camellia – there’s a new fashion flower in town, thanks to the Loewe anthurium. The tropical bloom went viral after Loewe’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection was revealed last September, with the flower adorning almost every item of clothing that was sent down the catwalk. Ever since, it’s become the fashion flower to be seen wearing in 2023.
During its star turn on the SS23 catwalk, the blooms were used to decorate dresses, transformed into fantastical floral bras and even featured as a striking centrepiece, with a giant fibreglass anthurium sculpture erected in the middle of the runway. Now some of the world’s most famous faces have been adopting the Jonathan Anderson-ified flower as their latest must-have fashion piece. Emily Ratajkowski wore a Loewe top featuring an oversized green and pink anthurium to sit front row at the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2023 show at Paris Fashion Week, and Adwoa Aboah turned heads when she wore a white Loewe gown with two strategically placed anthurium flowers over the bust to the Vanity Fair Oscars after party last month.
Other celebrities who have been seen embracing the trend include Zendaya, who posted an Instagram snap of her wearing a white Loewe anthurium dress a full two weeks before the collection even hit the runway, and Kendall Jenner, who chose to wear hers as a choker. It’s proven a hit on the newsstands too, with both Bones and All star (and Loewe ambassador) Taylor Russell and Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega gracing magazine covers wearing the arresting flowers.
The exotic-looking blooms have been a fashion insider favourite for years now, known for being a flower of choice in the chicest of arrangements. Fashion-forward florist Flowerbx – founded by former SVP of communications at Tom Ford, Whitney Bromberg Hawkings – has a whole section on their site dedicated to anthuriums, while brands including Marc Jacobs and Mansur Gavriel have long used them in their campaigns.
The flower is also taking centre stage in an immersive Loewe installation at Matchesfashion this month. Taking over the first floor of the 5 Carlos Place townhouse until Saturday 13 May, the space has been transformed into the world of Loewe, with an oversized version of the anthurium and leaf stiletto that walked the collection on display.
Also known as ‘flamingo flowers’ or ‘pigtail plants’, anthuriums originate from the warmer areas of the Caribbean and South America and are known for being poisonous, particularly to pets. With their shiny, waxy petals, there’s a plasticy feel to them that’s at odds with their botanical nature. Thanks to their intriguingly sculptural and somewhat phallic nature, it’s not hard to see why the ever-irreverent Anderson decided to make the flowers the focus of his collection.
“I like this idea of something in nature that looks fake but is real, and this idea of iconography: that, when you see something, it reminds us of something as a repeated motif,” Anderson said ahead of his Paris Fashion Week presentation in September. “I think it can represent two things. Or three things… if it vibrated.”
