admin Lela Rose knows that being inspired by florals for a spring collection is a little expected “I know—groundbreaking!” she said with a laugh, referencing the classic Devil Wears Prada dig. Since Rose is almost always looking to flowers for inspiration, she gets a pass. Last spring, she staged a fruit-filled runway show complete with banana phones and strawberry embroidery. This spring, she was craving simpler silhouettes. If spring 2023 was a celebration of just how kitschy Lela Rose could go, this season showcased the most pared back vision of the brand.
When Rose was in Japan a few years ago, she visited the studio of the botanical artist Azuma Makoto. She had seen his work used in Dries Van Noten’s spring 2015 runway show and found it to be hauntingly beautiful. “What he does is groundbreaking florals; he does these gorgeous sculptures, then freezes them, and sends them up in the atmosphere,” Rose explained. When translating that into her own, peppy collection—which was decidedly optimistic and not haunted—Rose created abstract floral prints and petal-life ruffles: blooms slightly obscured.
Like many designers this season, Rose was feeling formal matching sets with pants and ball skirts. But the dresses were strongest: a light-as-air lavender style with a watercolor-like pattern at the bottom; a midi covered in a vivid yellow and orange floral print on a blue backdrop, accentuated with a lace trim on the sleeves; even a utilitarian brown sleeveless Claire McCardell–ish one with contrasting jewel buttons in purple, yellow, and blue. All undeniably wearable, with a detail or two that made them special.
