Located in an old and quiet neighborhood, it is the ideal hub to observe the world from. In this transit zone, between the city and the countryside, florist Thierry Boutemy feels at his best. If you don’t know him by name, you most certainly know his work: he created the lush flower arrangements in Sofia Coppola’s movie Marie Antoinette. But the pomposity of the context Boutemy often submerges himself into, is in high contrast to his natural take on floral design and his preference to stay under the radar.
Located in an old and quiet neighborhood, it is the ideal hub to observe the world from. In this transit zone, between the city and the countryside, florist Thierry Boutemy feels at his best. If you don’t know him by name, you most certainly know his work: he created the lush flower arrangements in Sofia Coppola’s movie Marie Antoinette. But the pomposity of the context Boutemy often submerges himself into, is in high contrast to his natural take on floral design and his preference to stay under the radar.
„This year I thoroughly questioned myself, because I often work with people who are far off from reality. With my flowers, I try to go back to nature, back to the naturalness of things, which is quite the opposite of the world I work in.” When not composing arrangements in his boutique, you can find him at home, surrounded by his family and his nature bound art collection.
Fashion’s premier florist is a title you are quite unhappy with. Why is that?
Because I am not. The things people write about me are untrue. For example, I never worked for Dries Van Noten, nor for Lanvin. But I do love collaborating with Etienne Russo of the event company Villa Eugenie, who often asks me to decorate catwalks for his clients. Fashion is a strange world, which I like to observe from a distance. In fashion everything has to happen fast and often, you end up being a victim of the spur of the moment. I told myself I was never going to work in that business again…but it all depends on the project and the people I work with. Christian Wijnants is a Belgian fashion designer whose work I admire. And Hendrik Vibskov. Well, he is a genius. I bought a small artwork of his making he exhibited in Cologne.
So you do like fashion, but you prefer to stay away from the fashion scene.
I’m not a fashionable person. What is produced by the fashion industry has little to do with the real world, unless you are either 15 or 45 years old and spend all of your days at the gym. I do not want to be a victim of what I wear, although I do own clothes by Hendrik Vibskov in size XL. [laughing] The only time I truly worked in fashion was with Opening Ceremony. They photographed my work and turned it into a wearable collection. It was a beautiful collaboration.
How about the film industry?
Film sets are inspiring and working with Sofia Coppola was extraordinary. She’s an amazing person. When we started working on Marie Antoinette together, I was afraid of her. But on the first day, she asked me who I was, and she thanked me for the lovely flower arrangements. After that, I felt at ease. We did the movie together, and I also did her wedding. As I said, she is remarkable. Whenever I ask her a question, she responds immediately.
Are you sensitive when it comes to people’s reaction to what you do?
I love writing poetry with flowers and evoke emotions with a minimum of means. Overconsumption and devaluation are current trends. I’m not a fan of the Japanese philosophy, Zen, or wabi-sabi. I’m talking about simpler things. Things you can do yourself. People who work for me find it hard to understand, because I do not tell them what to do. There are rules in my profession, but I don’t follow them. I tell them to observe the flowers and to do whatever they feel. No rule says that flower bouquets are supposed to be round, although they have to look alive. And I think it’s funny when people return a piece with the message saying that the bouquet wasn’t complete. [laughing] The quality of a flower is so much more important that the quantity, but people aren’t ready to accept this. Sometimes all you need are a few herbs and two or three imperfect flowers to create poetry with.
Do you try to educate your clients?
I always do. The floral industry isn’t a clean business. It’s quite intense to grow flowers, so I do not understand why we’re dealing with such monstrous quantities. Every week I go to the flower market in the Netherlands, witnessing an excessive bulk of identical flowers without a soul and life, dead flowers actually, although it should be the exact opposite. The flower industry uses chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers and lots of energy to produce more and more flowers, whereas we can cultivate them in a different, ecological way. Floriculturists are disappearing, and my head is divided in two. On the one hand, I have to make a living and support my family. On the other hand, I hate what I see. I love flowers; it ’s my passion and it’s good to submerge fully in what you love, but there’s a downside to it. I’m a craftsman, and although I think I am independent, I am not. Life is a daily struggle. Big events taking up an enormous amount of flowers make me somber. The overall effect is magical, but the next day everything ends up in the garbage. There’s no poetry when a flower gets reduced to a mere object.
A flower arrangement at a funeral is the last tribute to someone who was loved. When there’s an exchange between me and the ones who are left behind, it’s a beautiful thing.
Have you ever considered growing your own flowers?
Yes, I have, but unfortunately, that’s impossible. I did a horticultural internship once with people who ran an honest business selling flowers to locals. At the end of their career, they asked me to continue what they started, but I declined their offer. I like to make a change. Not by being an ecologic or politic militant, but by talking about it. I won’t recline the floral industry, after all, I am a part of it. Last Summer I was commissioned to do a wedding for an American woman in Dubrovnik. The first thing I said, was that it was strange to celebrate in a place with such a recent violent history. I told my client to operate in a discrete manner and so we worked with Mediterranean plants and local products. After the feast, we gave everything away to the local community. I like to make a point, but not everyone is open to what I have to say. Luckily, this woman was.
Which life’s momentous occasion is the most beautiful to create flower arrangements for?
That would be a funeral. At the beginning of my career, I was told to use unpopular flowers, that is was the ultimate moment to get rid of your stock. But a funeral is the last tribute to someone who was loved. It’s spiritual moment. When there’s an exchange between me, and the ones who are left behind. It’s a beautiful thing. And it moves me in a profound way.
You’re a Frenchman living in Brussels. How did you end up here and why not in Paris for example?
I worked in Normandy and did an internship in Paris, but I didn’t see myself living there. Paris is lovely in the summertime and on Sundays, but other than that, I do not like it. The city is condensed and terribly crowded. If I had more money, I would move to the suburbs of London. This area has so many vintage independent boutiques selling unique products in small editions, and I always wonder how on earth they are capable of surviving. If you want to become famous and work in showbiz and fashion, London is a good start, and so is Paris and New York. In Brussels, there’s a different atmosphere. I feel liberated here. Nobody ever tells me what to do, and there’s enough space to experiment and to create an identity. Many things are happening here, and not all good things prevail, but that’s what I love about the city.
For someone’s who’s into flowers, you collect a lot of art. Does it inspire you?
It surely does. I’m fascinated by folk art, the culture of the Inuit and Amero-Indians, because they live so close to nature. And I love purchasing figurative works from friends and artists who explore nature in all its forms. I would like to organize more exhibitions in the flower shop, but it is too tiny here. My job is very high-demanding. Occasionally I work with 30 to 40 people on one single assignment, but I don’t enjoy it. I prefer working alone on small projects, like a dinner party in the atelier of artist Thomas Leroy. I love doing research, collaborate and create. My work relates to nature and many things in life, such as art. But in the end, I’m a florist and not an artist.
www.thierryboutemy.com | |
Text: Magali Elali Photography: Bart Kiggen |