Fleurs de Villes - Downton Abbey

Fleurs de Villes – Downton Abbey

News

Fleurs de Villes returns to Prudential Center with its world-renowned floral show! Boston’s talented floral artists took inspiration from this year’s theme of Downton Abbey to create Fleurs de Villes’ signature fresh floral mannequins to highlight the famed period drama – and final film released this past September.

From November 5th to November 9th, explore the Center to admire these botanical masterpieces, brought to life by Boston’s top floral designers. With each of these nearly 20 fresh pieces of floral art, step into the world of Downton Abbey and be transported to the early 20th-century and the aristocratic world of the Crawley family and their household staff.

This magnificent floral exhibition also vines up 750 feet above the city into View Boston with an immersive English garden experience, 12PM High Tea, and a Mar-TEA-ni Evening affair featuring floral-inspired cocktails and spirited libations. High Tea reservations can be made HERE and include View Boston admission.

Before heading to the Center, learn more below (and watch HERE) about how a few of this year’s featured florists designed their unique floral mannequins!

Sunny Chu (Owner, Sunny Florists)

When I received the inspiration photo [of Cora Crawley], I began by identifying the background of the story and the key elements of the character that create its overall mood, including color palette, texture, and shape. I then selected flowers that best matched or reinterpreted those elements, while also factoring in seasonality.

Renee vanGestel (Manager of Design Operations, Winston Flowers)

The portrait of Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, picked the florals for me! Her attire is shades of blue, and silver/grey. There are a very limited number of florals in the natural world that are of those colors! I had to think “What is the best use of and what is actually available?” All the while keeping her spirit, personality, and the period of time into consideration. Blue hydrangea (no brainer), gentiana and thistles, dusty millers and Brunia berry came to mind in an instant.

Kseniya Khromina (Owner, Floristika Studio)

For this year’s installation, the palette is soft and neutral, featuring off-white, cream, and nude tones. To echo the delicate, lace-like textures of the dress [for Lady Rose], we’re incorporating skeleton leaves for a light, airy effect. The “skirt” portion will be composed primarily of fresh roses, chrysanthemums, carnations, and hydrangeas to provide volume and lushness. To emulate the intricate embroidery details and jewelry-like elements, we’ll accent with silver brunia, eucalyptus pods, and dried florals for added texture and visual depth. The headpiece – being the least accessible part for maintenance – will feature mostly preserved and dried elements, with minimal fresh accents to ensure longevity and stability.

Finally, to harmonize with the red and gold tones of the carpet, we’re introducing fresh florals such as roses, hydrangeas, and preserved leaves in complementary hues. This creates a striking contrast that highlights the off-white “dress” of the installation, ensuring it stands out beautifully against the rich background.

Fleur de Villes – Downton Abbey is only on display from November 5th to November 9th! Admire the fresh floral mannequins throughout Prudential Center and up in the sky in View Boston!

About Fleurs de Villes

Founded in 2015 by lifestyle and media experts Tina Barkley and Karen Marshall, Fleurs de Villes (flowers of the cities) has produced more than 100 unique luxury large-scale floral installations, uniting over 950 floral artists in major destinations across Canada, the United States, England, Scotland and Australia. Champions of experiential marketing in the form of installations, Fleurs de Villes is a floral story-teller, leveraging local floral talent in every city to create authentic, engaging 360-degree experiences.The world-renowned immersive floral show made its Boston debut at the Center in 2023.