Floral design as we know it stands on the cusp of a brave new world. Historically, the emphasis has been on pretty, uncomplicated styling, but lately, designers are ushering in a decidedly avant-garde approach to their art form. Witness Sarah Lineberger’s gorgeous floral chandeliers.
In short, today’s floral design is all about looking beautiful while engaging our creative sensibilities, and the industry shows no sign of slowing down. The latest indicator that unconventional flowers are on the rise is “freakebana.”
The term, coined by the Cut’s Stella Bugbee, is a nod to the Japanese flower arrangement form ikebana — a spare, naturalistic style that aims to situate the plants nearly seamlessly into their surroundings.
Freakebana is like that, but with a Dalí-esque twist of psychedelic surrealism and an underlying nod to the prosaic — reminiscent of 2014’s normcore moment. The flowers are lovely, but the look is “ugly.” There’s an emphasis on stems, leaves, and roots and the incorporation of vegetables and ordinary household items, like paper clips and tin cans.
The point, according to the Cut: “Pink carnations, cubes of Jell-O, an air plant, a single rhinestone earring, a tuft of steel wool — almost no object is too low, or high, to qualify.”
