I worked with the image of flowers and a women merging into one,  My ideas were inspired by  the knowledge that Gruau was so influenced by his own garden, I  sketched flowers in my own garden that I had grown this summer…the mix of incredibly perfect Dahlias in their almost man-made colours mixed with the prehistoric looking ferns, and used wisps of pale grey’s to imitate the bouquet rising from the flower.

Christian Dior’s love of flowers inspired him to create the New Look in 1947. Drawn to their architectural symmetry, their colours and scent, he aimed to transpose these qualities on to the clothes he designed:  “I was drawing flower women, soft, sloping shoulders, generous busts, a slim waist and wide skirts like flower petals.” René Gruau understood and shared Dior’s passion for flowers, and when Dior asked him to create drawings for his perfume Diorissimo in 1956, he embraced the commission wholeheartedly, creating a series of exuberant illustrations that perfectly captured the spirit of both the perfume and its creator’s vision. Gruau continued to use the flower theme after Dior’s death in 1957, paying homage to one of his great friend’s deepest and most enduring influences .

The exhibition is taking place till 9th Jan 2011 at Somerset House in London.

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/fashion/dior/default.asp