Where is there left to go when you’ve made it to the top of the cutthroat fashion industry?
You quit your job. And you become a florist.
At least, that’s what longtime editor/bonafide street-style star Taylor Tomasi-Hill did.
After ten-plus years working for such publications as Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, and W magazine, the crimson-haired fashion maven announced in October 2013 that she would be leaving her two-year role as creative director of Moda Operandi for an unknown (at the time) venture.
“After I left Moda, I started meeting with people, and as a thank you I would make miniature floral arrangements for a more personal touch,” she told Fashionista via e-mail in February. “All of a sudden, I hear that Honor Brodie [the creative director at Tory Burch] and others were passing on my information, and I was getting requests for my blooms. It’s something I love and I found it quite therapeutic.”
Sure, she’s participated in an array of style-centric endeavors (covering New York Fashion Week for Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, styling—and starring in—Zara’s Spring/Summer 2014 campaign). But ultimately, Tomasi-Hill’s leave from Moda Operandi produced her most exciting (and unique) endeavor. It was then that @TTHBlooms, her new floral arrangements agency, was born.
Run strictly from the company’s Instagram page (with the aforementioned handle), Tomasi-Hill has been commissioned by the fashionable likes of Dior, Coach, and Roger Vivier for her signature “miniature blooms”: one-of-a-kind floral arrangements that may be small in size, but are certainly packed with individuality. The flowers are delivered in mason jars and are finished off with craft paper tied with baker’s twine. Living in Chelsea (close to the city’s flower district) and having lots of fashion connections didn’t hurt, but the former editor is now making a statement in a new industry.
It may seem like an odd career shift for one of the most influential women in fashion, but through Tomasi-Hill’s floral aesthetic, it’s clear that her eye for style hasn’t disappeared—it’s simply been translated from clothes and accessories to peonies and ranunculus. “I love anything with texture, anything miniature, and I’m probably most talented when it comes to an untrained eye,” she told Elle Décor, where she also referred to TTHBlooms as a “passion project.” “You won’t get anything contrived from me.”
Most recently, Tomasi-Hill combined her revered eye as a stylist with her new floral endeavor, presenting a series of runway-inspired blooms on Elle.com. She channeled the ethereal simplicity of Rochas with South Africa’s national flower, the King Protea; she mimicked the wild hairstyle of Junya Watanabe’s collection with explosion grass; she matched Thom Browne’s eerie insane asylum theme with simply white tulips smeared with red lipstick. Parrot tulips were reminiscent of Celine’s paint stroked pieces, while chamelaucium were used to emphasize the vibrant, graphic designs of Mary Katrantzou.
Fashion. Flowers. At the end of the day, the intrinsic value in styling an aesthetically-pleasing creation amounts to the same—regardless of the material being used.
“I’ve always had a passion for anything and everything lifestyle,” Tomasi-Hill continued. “A singular flower is a piece of art just as an arrangement can be. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder.”
