LONDON’S UNDERWATER FLORAL EXTRAVAGANZA
CHELSEA IN BLOOM
Since 2006, Chelsea transforms each year into a floral feast thanks to the annual Chelsea in Bloom floral art show. With our first Essentiel Antwerp London store opening on Sloane Square just a few months ago, this year was our first chance to participate in the well-scented competition and to interpret 2019’s theme: Under the Sea.
"There wasn’t a moment of doubt that Mark’s skills and vision should be the one to make this unique underwater dream come to life."
To make our colorful underwater world come to life, we teamed up with Antwerp-based florist Mark Colle. As Mark’s flower shop, Baltimore, is just around the corner from our own HQ, this collaboration wasn’t the first for us. Inge and Esfan frequently work with Mark on all sorts of projects and strongly believe in his vision and aesthetic. Aside from his previous work for Essentiel Antwerp, Colle has also made floral arrangements for brands like Raf Simons, Christian Dior, Jil Sander, and Viktor & Rolf. There wasn’t a moment of doubt that Mark’s skills and vision should be the one to make this unique underwater dream come to life.
Which idea grew from 2019’s Under the Sea theme?
Mark — We wanted to transform the store windows into a coral reef landscape by using an array of plants and flowers in bright colors.
These flowers don’t usually grow underwater, yet the display that came to life looks as if you could find it in a tropical ocean.
Mark — We achieved this effect with the right choice of flowers and the way of displaying them. By creating elevations, hills, and peaks to have the illusion that flowers and plants are growing from the floor onto the windows and around the mannequins. By playing with these different levels, we created a magical coral reef that completely overtakes the window as if it could roam free and undisturbed for ages.
The sub-aquatic world will be on display during the remainder of the competition until the 25th of May. But thankfully, we’ll be able to enjoy the pictures of this underwater world for much longer than that.
We’re incredibly thrilled to announce that our first participation to Chelsea in Bloom is awarded a silver medal. This award was given to us by the competition’s expert panel of judges, but winning hopefully doesn’t end here.
The People’s Champion Award isn’t chosen yet and is still open by open voting until midnight on Thursday the 23rd of May.
Don’t forget to place your vote on www.chelseainbloom.co.uk/participants-voting/essentiel-antwerp and keep those fingers crossed!
