Three Ways Florals Are Making A Comeback Spring 2025

Fictional fashion expert, Miranda Priestly, once said, "Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking."

Although The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly was bluntly sarcastic when saying this iconic line, she spoke the truth. Florals and spring go together like Anna Wintour and sunglasses– you rarely see one without the other. So, needless to say, florals were expected in New York Fashion Week's displays from Spring/Summer 2025. However, we are seeing florals in unique ways that make them familiar yet fresh. Flowers are becoming bigger, more vibrant, and multi-dimensional. Here are three ways various designers have creatively brought a renewed take on spring's timeless trend and how to easily incorporate them into your seasonal wardrobe.

1. Realism

The first stylistic change in florals I noticed was how realistic they looked.

This season has made me a new fan of florals as more than a pattern but as an art form. One of my newfound favorite designers, Alice + Olivia, approached florals in a completely different way this season. Alice + Olivia, founded by Stacy Bendet in 2002, is a high-end brand that often reinvents vintage elements for contemporary audiences. For this SS 2025 show, Stacy continued a theme seen in her past few collections: extremely realistic florals.

Vibrant, picturesque displays of expansive roses and peonies scaled the sides of classic power suits. In past shows, this style of flora has given me a 2010s vibe. I remember having a colorful peach and orange set of similar, large patterns. This season, however, Bendet broadened the color palette and changed the placement of her florals to create a more modern rendition of a staple.

On the contrary, Naoko Tosa is a Japanese media artist who has used traditional Japanese garb as a canvas for her floral photography. This medium fits perfectly with the trends of the time, which opens a door for photography and fashion to blend. Before understanding Naoko's background, the collection bored me as the designs felt repetitive: extremely blown-up pictures of flowers printed onto clothes. That is, in fact, what it was, but with the crucial context that the designer is an artist who is using fashion to mobilize her love for the beauty of nature.

2. Construction

In Caroline Hu's line, it appears as if the models are cosplaying as literal flowers.

This innovative rendition is typical for Caroline as she is often adventurous with silhouettes, fabric manipulation, and color. In this collection, Caroline used pigments that capture the essence of florals, such as blues, greens, pinks, oranges, and reds. The colors are strategically placed on voluminous silhouettes that resemble a bloomed flower. However, each look's unique "deconstructed" construction is unrealistic for ready-to-wear. Her most subtle application was a large rose embroidered on the center of a silk white gown. The embroidery is so relaxed that the flower appears to be 3-D, and the embellishment pinches the fabric. It is apparent that the messily constructed look is Hu's style, but I was not a fan of it in this collection.

In a different way, a few pieces out of the Alice + Olivia show creatively added an immense amount of character to flower design. I so adored the gorgeous blue pattern of a more simplistic flower used for tiered and mini dresses. She uses embroidery to make the large flower, strategically constructed fabric forms a 3D center, beads and sequins illustrate breathtaking details on the petals, and finally, a watercolor-esque shadow completes this intricate design. With such an array of mediums on a single flower, it can be easy for it to be overwhelming, but Bendet executed it perfectly. The design is captivating and beautiful.

An eccentric yet satisfying take.

3. 3D

Finally, the most innovative rendition of florals would be when they jump off the pieces.

In the Zomer show, a newer brand creative directed by Danial Aitouganov, flowers were the centerpiece of the entire line in various ways: bleach print, photographs, realistic, and painted, but it was 3D that stood out the most. I didn't really like the collection itself because it reminded me of a children's book. Still, I could appreciate its bold take on florals. The chaos of this collection is within character for Zomer, however, as it is known for its experimental design and "child-like" playfulness." Colossal 3-D flowers jump off the chests of models, in some cases, to an unwearable extent. In one look, a model appears as if she has been consumed by a rogue flower shop, which feels more appropriate for haute couture. The childish energy of the line was especially portrayed in a look where a large paper-looking flower is stuck onto a dress, which reminded me of a giant children's art project.

David Koma is a luxury designer who often plays with the relationship between edge and femininity when dressing celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, Beyonce, and Anne Hathaway. I really liked his Spring 2025 collection. The pieces themselves were beautiful, and I appreciated the subtle application seen in a few of David Koma's looks, where he placed pink 3-D flowers at the end of chains to add an additional feminine touch to the dark punk looks. In this case, the flowers juxtapose the edgy core of the look in a way that regular floral print would be incapable of. Zomer's rendition of the new trend was obviously more extreme and experimental, but I quite like the more reasonable applications.

Florals will forever be perennial when it comes to spring fashion. Seeing the creative and innovative way designers are keeping us excited for the most expected trend is so refreshing. Most of the brands I have listed are high-end and, for most, would be a considerable investment. For the more experimental designers such as Zomer and Caroline Hu, I recommend taking inspiration but not replication from their collections. Because they have such an avante-garde take on florals, it is most likely that their pieces will become distasteful quickly once the new standard for florals is officially set. Essentially, I wouldn't advise investing in the more eccentric renditions of florals. Rather, consider incorporating vibrant colors and voluminous silhouettes into your spring wardrobe.

I anticipate seeing more of the practical 3D flowers and intricate construction seen in Alice + Olivia and David Koma. Their incorporation of florals is more reasonable for everyday wear. As I mentioned, David Koma is responsible for numerous viral celebrity appearances on the red carpet. His designs are creative yet digestible for the mainstream, so they often accumulate a lot of popularity. This is why he is a good designer to look to for ideas on exploring new trends but staying within your comfort zone.