Into the Garden
Prada, 2023
Prada: Into the Garden is a series of experiences curated by Formafantasma in conjunction with the brand’s Fall Winter 2023-24 collection, titled ‘Conversation with a Flower’. The events took place in major botanical gardens in London, New York, Paris and Tokyo.
The experiences are centered around botany, herbariums, the materiality of wardian cases and interspecies relations in these micro-environments. The event consists of two parts: the initial segment is a guided tour, where specific areas of the garden are explored to provide context. The second part is a conversation between two speakers and the attendees.
Prada: Into the Garden are unplugged experiences, meaning devoid of microphones and screens, allowing for a more intimate atmosphere. By minimizing technology, the encounters emphasize moments of discussion, sharing and listening. Each attendee is handed a set of postcards as the visual and olfactive support to the conversation.
Formafantasma developed the format, selected the locations and speakers of each experience and worked on the implementation of the project. The events aim to nurture cross-conversations between different spheres, engaging in a larger conversation around ecology. Formafantasma collaborated with each location’s team, extending relationships from previous works, such as the collaboration initiated with the Kew Gardens in London during Cambio (2020), thereby expanding the discourse into different arenas.
London, Kew Gardens
Day 1
Speakers Alice Rawsthorn and Libby Sellers explored the intersections of design, architecture, and botanical practices, delving into glass replicas, floristry as a form of social design, national identity through flowers and rewilding projects.
Day 2
Speakers Daisy Ginsberg and Natalia Grabowska looked into specific interspecies alliances at the Kew Gardens, and later connected these observations to Ginsberg’s ongoing work on pollinators.
Day 1
Speakers Alice Rawsthorn and Libby Sellers explored the intersections of design, architecture, and botanical practices, delving into glass replicas, floristry as a form of social design, national identity through flowers and rewilding projects.
Day 2
Speakers Daisy Ginsberg and Natalia Grabowska looked into specific interspecies alliances at the Kew Gardens, and later connected these observations to Ginsberg’s ongoing work on pollinators.
Paris, Le Musée Départemental Albert-Kahn
Day 1
Speakers Sissel Tolaas and Dan Thawley looked into smell and senses involved in the ‘Japanese, French and British style’ gardens of the museum. The conversation later focused on the use of genetic engineering to resurrect the smell of the extinct Hibiscadelphus Wilderianus flower.
Day 1
Speakers Sissel Tolaas and Dan Thawley looked into smell and senses involved in the ‘Japanese, French and British style’ gardens of the museum. The conversation later focused on the use of genetic engineering to resurrect the smell of the extinct Hibiscadelphus Wilderianus flower.
Tokyo, Jindai Botanical Gardens and Maruta
Day 1 and Day 2:
Speakers Sissel Tolaas and Ikko Yokoyama explored smells and senses involved in the rose and dahlia gardens at Jindai. The conversation later focused on the use of genetic engineering to resurrect the smell of the extinct Hibiscadelphus Wilderianus flower.
New York, New York Botanical Garden
Day 1
Speakers Andrés Jaque and Felix Burrichter investigated transgender plant species, including the Botanical Garden’s collection of Victoria Amazonicas and explored wardian cases as a lens to understand the environmental and socio-economic complexities associated with global plant transportation. The conversation later focused on the work of Jaque in mobilizing architecture as an ecology of systems, alliances and connection between transcalar species.
Day 2
Speakers Formafantasma and Felix Burrichter examined flowers as design tools, discussing some of the recent works of the studio such as framing the roses in Sub Rosa (2022) or archiving as a process of intellectual self pollination in Archivio Massimo (2023).
Day 1 and Day 2:
Speakers Sissel Tolaas and Ikko Yokoyama explored smells and senses involved in the rose and dahlia gardens at Jindai. The conversation later focused on the use of genetic engineering to resurrect the smell of the extinct Hibiscadelphus Wilderianus flower.
New York, New York Botanical Garden
Day 1
Speakers Andrés Jaque and Felix Burrichter investigated transgender plant species, including the Botanical Garden’s collection of Victoria Amazonicas and explored wardian cases as a lens to understand the environmental and socio-economic complexities associated with global plant transportation. The conversation later focused on the work of Jaque in mobilizing architecture as an ecology of systems, alliances and connection between transcalar species.
Day 2
Speakers Formafantasma and Felix Burrichter examined flowers as design tools, discussing some of the recent works of the studio such as framing the roses in Sub Rosa (2022) or archiving as a process of intellectual self pollination in Archivio Massimo (2023).
