Ansel Elgort Celebrates Flower Power

Actor Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), along with such notables as photographer Gilles Bensimon, Laure Heriard-Dubreuil, founder of the Webster, artist Rachel Hovnanian, interior designer Carlos Mota, and publishers Martine and Prosper Assouline, came out to celebrate the publication of  Assouline’s new book, Flowers: Art and Bouquets a sumptuous tome exploring floral art as practiced by top designers around the world. That means you’ll find lots of gorgeous imagery and dozens of ideas for making precious buds look more artistic than ever. The event was held at Ovando studio, home to the floral boutique beloved by New York’s fashion crowd.

The book showcases a rich selection of imagery and floral interpretations in different artistic media and time periods. The beauty of flowers has inspired artists, designers, poets, and other creatives for centuries: the Dutch masters of the 1600s, Impressionist painters from Manet to Van Gogh, and in more recent times photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol. In the text, design writer Sixtine Dubly chronicles the evolution of floral design and highlights the work of more than forty contemporary flower artists in London, Paris, and New York, whose styles range from minimalist to elaborate. Designer Carlos Mota wrote the foreword. 

For the party the Ovando Studio was decorated with design of privet branches, hydrangea, sunflowers and Esremurus stems in tall vases mixed with votive candles and purple linens. Mixing and mingling amid the blooms, guests nibbled on mini-Montauk lobster rolls and BLTs, tuna tartare, truffle grilled cheese, passion fruit snobinettes, and s’mores tarts, prepared by Neuehouse Kitchen.