A Golden Bloom: Macy’s Flower Show Celebrates 50 Years of Botanical Brilliance with YSL Beauty’s Art of Flowers
April 21st, 2025 – Each spring, Macy’s Flower Show turns New York’s flagship Herald Square store into a horticultural marvel—and this year, the beloved tradition returns with heightened grandeur to mark its 50th anniversary. Running from April 27 through May 18, the show celebrates not only seasonal renewal but also five decades of artistry, storytelling, and sensory escape. This milestone year expands the experience to three full weeks of installations, events, and exclusive offerings, transforming the legendary retail space into a dreamscape of color and scent.
At the heart of this year’s celebration is YSL Beauty’s Art of Flowers, a standout immersive installation that invites visitors to step into a daring new world where nature becomes sculpture, fragrance becomes architecture, and beauty dares to evolve.
A Daring Expression of Nature and Fragrance
YSL Beauty Art of Flowers is more than a floral display—it’s an encounter with transformation. From the brand that has consistently challenged the boundaries of beauty comes a multi-sensory exhibit that reinterprets blooms through metallic florals, bold geometry, and olfactory storytelling. Positioned prominently at Macy’s Herald Square, the installation takes over the iconic 34th Street façade, hinting at the immersive journey that awaits inside.
The experience pays homage to YSL’s most celebrated fragrances, each rendered through a sculptural floral lens. The centerpiece is LIBRE L’EAU NUE, the brand’s new alcohol-free citrus floral, which introduces guests to a refreshingly modern take on feminine freedom—one expressed through lavender, orange blossom, and cutting-edge oil-in-water technology. Silver-toned petals and aromatic textures surround the scene, balancing softness with steel.
As guests move through the exhibit, the landscape shifts—first into a lush tapestry of geranium and bergamot for MYSLF, then into an enigmatic space bathed in blue to evoke Y, with notes of sage and blue geranium heightening the atmosphere. Each section feels like walking through a living fragrance bottle, each turn a new inhale.
A Celebration of Legacy—and Reinvention
This collaboration speaks to a deeper story. Flowers have always been intrinsic to the Yves Saint Laurent universe, symbolizing both tenderness and power. From the designer’s earliest collections to the brand’s modern beauty line, blooms have embodied the contradictions and freedoms that define YSL. At this year's Macy’s Flower Show, that legacy is not only honored but magnified—offering a contemporary translation of Saint Laurent’s original muse.
YSL Beauty closes the loop by inviting guests to personalize their experience—from custom bottle engraving and limited-edition charms to exclusive watercolor artwork inspired by the installation. A final flourish: each guest is gifted a bouquet of lilies, the signature floral note in LIBRE Flowers & Flames.
Macy’s Flower Show at 50: A Cultural Rite of Spring
Held annually at Macy’s Herald Square—and now also at locations across the country—the Macy’s Flower Show has grown into a nationwide cultural ritual, heralding spring with a retail twist. This year’s event, themed around “renewal, transformation, and wonder,” invites visitors into a multi-layered experience complete with curated merchandise, interactive programming, and Macy’s first-ever ‘Bouquet of Deals’ shopping activation.
What began in the 1970s as a modest window display has since become one of New York’s most iconic seasonal experiences. Over the decades, it has evolved into an event that merges art, commerce, and sensory escape in one of the city’s busiest retail spaces.
And with 50 years of petals behind it, the show proves that seasonal spectacle never goes out of style—especially when it’s rooted in reinvention.