Where Nature Meets Design: The Trends Shaping Floral Art Today

Floral design is increasingly moving beyond decoration and stepping into the territory of spatial storytelling. It shapes how people experience a room, how they move, how they remember an event. Through the work of Cecilia Paganini, founder of La Fiorellaia, this evolution becomes clear: flowers are treated as living architecture, as color, texture and rhythm, all in dialogue with contemporary design, fashion and visual culture.

Asked about the floral trends she observes most clearly, Cecilia describes a scene suspended between spontaneity and structure. “We are seeing a strong return to more natural and spontaneous designs, driven by growing sensitivity toward sustainability: aerial installations with cascades of flowers, abundant and vertical floral compositions, mixes of botanical elements with foliage and natural textures. At the same time, there is rising interest in massed compositions that feature botanical materials as protagonists. They are characterized by strong attention to form and by the use of few floral or vegetal varieties to emphasize shape — something that would be lost with too many combined varieties.”

The result is a dual movement. On one hand, more organic, airy arrangements that feel light and fluid. On the other, bold, sculptural blocks of flowers and botanical material that almost resemble design objects. In both cases, the focus shifts from excess to intention.

Color follows the same path of refinement. “In recent years, white combined with acid greens — with the total absence of classic foliage — has been very on trend. Now requests for deeper, more intense palettes are growing: plum, burgundy, desaturated greens, especially for autumn and winter events. But the real trend is the tonal palette: shades within the same chromatic family, built in a very contemporary way.”

These palettes echo what is happening in interiors and fashion: less contrast for contrast’s sake, more layered nuance. Tonal compositions allow the flower to become atmosphere rather than just accent, wrapping spaces in a refined, cinematic mood.

The people who commission floral projects are also changing. They arrive more informed, more visually trained, and often with precise references. “Clients are looking for cleaner projects, essential ones that are coherent with the location. There is greater attention to the quality of botanical materials, to seasonality and to the truth of the flower. Less artifice, more stylistic research. Social media have accustomed even private clients to an aesthetic eye, and events increasingly resemble photo shoots rather than classic installations.”

This “educated eye” raises expectations but also opens new possibilities. It allows for bolder choices, more conceptual directions and projects in which flowers are truly integrated into the language of the space, not simply added on top.

Innovation does not concern only flowers. It also involves the supports and systems that make complex installations possible. “Lighter and reusable technical supports, biodegradable materials for structures and modular solutions that allow faster and more sustainable setups. I am interested in everything that combines aesthetics and functionality.”

Behind a seemingly effortless installation there is a world of engineering, modular thinking and material research. The future of floral design will be shaped as much by these invisible structures as by petals and leaves.

Some flowers never really leave the stage. Others return with surprising strength. “The true evergreens are seasonal ones: peonies, hydrangeas, ranunculus, roses. Among the returns, definitely anthurium, carnations, lilium, gerberas and… chrysanthemums!”

The rediscovery of these varieties speaks to a broader cultural trend: a renewed interest in “ordinary” flowers, reinterpreted through new forms, palettes and compositions. What was once considered nostalgic or old-fashioned becomes, in the right hands, graphic, contemporary and full of character.

No discussion of trends can ignore the impact of digital imagery. “A lot, because social media create imagery. People arrive with very precise moodboards, often influenced by Instagram and Pinterest. My role is to translate that inspiration into a real, possible, coherent and sustainable project. Not everything seen online works in practice. It is a tool that helps those with little imagination or to convey concepts, but it is equally dangerous because it makes people think everyone can afford everything, which is not the case. There is a lack of awareness of the work and the value behind it.”

Pinterest boards and Instagram feeds become starting points, not goals. The designer’s responsibility is to filter, adapt and sometimes gently contradict — in favor of quality, feasibility and integrity.

A central question in any design discipline is how to navigate the tension between trend and identity. Cecilia’s answer is rooted in process. “The balance is found in the design phase. I always start from the client or brand identity and only then integrate trends and contemporary visual languages. A beautiful project should not reflect the fashion of the moment, but the person who lives it. A trend is a reference, not the guide.”

This approach prevents projects from becoming dated too quickly. It anchors them in something personal and specific, using trends as a palette rather than as a formula.

Among all evolving directions, one in particular represents, for Cecilia, not just a trend but a necessary shift. “Seasonality and naturalness. Respecting nature’s rhythm, choosing authentic botanicals, searching for forms that are less ‘perfect’ and more true. These approaches not only benefit the environment, but make installations more poetic, contemporary and lasting in people’s memory.”

In a landscape where images travel faster than ever, what remains is what feels sincere. Flowers that follow their own time, arranged with intelligence and honesty, become design in the deepest sense — something that does not simply impress, but resonates.