Our exclusive OFFICE x adidas Flower Market collection is a celebration of creativity within different art forms. The intricate floral pattern elevates the cult classic Stan Smith and Superstar silhouettes, creating a fresh, feminine edge to these iconic styles.

Honouring the floral themes of the collection, we met with Philippine Fontaine – a French Florist, who owns the London-based, Instagram-favourite, floral boutique All That Greenery. When collaborating with Philippine and adidas, we wanted to delve into the art of floristry and celebrating the Flower Market pack.

In her home studio, Philippine created a series of beautiful floral arrangements inspired by the colours and textures within the collection. Running her own business, it is essential for Philippine to be comfortable on her feet. As an advocate for sustainability too, Philippine stressed the importance of investing in trainers that stand the test of time. With this in mind, the adidas Stan Smith and Superstars makes for the perfect comfy shoe to survive the demands of a long day whilst still feeling effortlessly stylish.

We sat down with Philippine after the shoot to discuss her career, personal style and how she navigated the success of her independent business through lockdown.

Hey Philippine, it’s great to collab with you on this! Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?
Hi, my name is Philippine, I am a French floral designer who moved to London 3 years ago. I started All That Greenery back in January 2019, which is a floral design studio for events, weddings & bespoke installations. We have an online shop for everlasting floral creations you can contemplate at home. I have also started to grow my own flowers in France for future projects.

What drew you to floristry?
When I was younger, I wanted to be a landscape designer. The opportunity to physically create unique universes and gain an in-depth understanding for nature and how we all coexist was inspired by spending all my time growing up in the garden with my mum teaching me about flowers.

For a while I found myself working in event management and marketing agencies which was fun but not really my thing. I finally left my office job in 2015 to pursue my passion for floristry and after years of practice, internships & freelancing, I decided to start my own business.

Favourite style – adidas Stan Smith or Superstar?
I have always been a Superstar fan. I remember in middle school I was telling my friends how lucky they were to have their parents buy them a pair because my mum wouldn’t. The shell toe detail is very unique, you cannot compare them to any other design.

How would you style these for everyday or dressing up?
For an everyday, classic look I would pair with 501 Levi jeans, a white cotton t-shirt and my jewellery. The flower print on the trainers act as a cute detail to elevate a simple outfit.

When dressing up, I would style with high-waisted palazzo silk trousers (maybe a pastel green shade) with a white crop top and a large open shirt. Oh and with lots of jewellery to complete the look, always!

How were you inspired by the shoes when making the floral arrangement?
Well, as you have might have noticed, I really like to use bright colours for my creations. I love when you think a few colours together might clash but at the end it is a harmonious combination. I also thought about the timeless aspect of the shoes, so I have concentrated on using dried and everlasting floral elements. The Ferns are dyed and dry well, the pink dripping Amaranthus is preserved (the sap is replaced by vegetal glycerine) so it lasts forever.

Any tips for budding florists?
Like every creative role, it is a demanding career. You put a lot of yourself into it and the amount of work, dedication and time can affect your perception sometimes. For example, starting your day at 4am and having to think clearly and create an arrangement at 6pm the same day can be tricky sometimes.

My best advice would be not to overthink your creations because you have this very high sense of detail and in-depth vision which is your superpower. You are an amazing florist, trust yourself and everyone will love it! I also don’t believe in selling roses for Valentine’s Day for the sake of the planet.

What are the challenges you’ve overcome with your business, this year in particular?
Being self-employed comes with new challenges every day, especially this year due to COVID. All the jobs got cancelled from the end of March, so I remodelled and started offering bouquet deliveries all around London. It worked well and kept me busy. That is the good thing about being a one-person entity, you can adapt quickly!

The biggest challenge for me now is to be as sustainable as possible. I’ve already banned all single-use plastic from my studio. The fresh flowers I use are 99% local flowers from family-owned flower farms and if I need something specific that I cannot find locally, they arrive from a neighbouring country. I have stopped using flowers imported from Latin America and Africa to limit my carbon footprint, I impose upon terrible working conditions and the use of very strong chemicals too.

Shop the adidas Flower Market pack here.

And check out more from Philippine here.

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