I first read about Thierry Boutemy on NOWNESS. Here, an introduction to the fanciful French florist whose surreal creations have the fashion set smitten. His portfolio boasts such clients as Lanvin, American Vogue, Dior, Dries Van Noten, and Viktor & Rolf. Most impressive, to me, is his work on the set of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.

To each epoch its bouquet. You can tell by looking at flowers in a painting or a photograph when it was made. A 1980s flower bunch is nothing like a 1960s one. As for the 18th-century, it was an era I researched when working on Marie Antoinette. It is a time I always had a personal attraction for. Nothing needlessly sophisticated, we only used “natural” flowers of the time.

via NOWNESS

Thierry also offers some sage advice when choosing the right bouquet for the occasion:

For saying sorry
Nothing. Flowers cannot serve as an apology. In fact, buying anything to say sorry bothers me. The only thing you can do is pluck a flower yourself.

For birthdays
Wild. Spontaneous. Nothing holding you back. I’d go for something very colorful, and definitely not sweet. I would mix wild or natural flowers, always seasonal. Poppies would be good. Definitely no roses or orchids.

For Sofia Coppola
Ah, Coppola! Sofia is someone very important to me. Our collaboration happened in a natural, soft way. She is a beautiful person and I owe her a lot. After working on Marie Antoinette––which was a real springboard for me––I went on to do her wedding. She invited me to attend the ceremony, which almost never happens. I was very touched. There was a natural understanding between us; we spoke little but were on the same wavelength. She is extremely grounded, normal, and so is her husband [Thomas Mars of the band Phoenix].

If it’s good enough for Sofia, it’s good enough for me.

Visit Thierry’s Tumblr, here.