Adieu, Spring: History of Floral

Springtime flowers come and go, but floral prints remain ingrained in our fibrous garments. Now that spring is dwindling away under the hot rays of early summer, we must bid farewell to cherry blossoms and wild mustard fields. This past March marked one year of remote learning, and with the increase in vaccinations, the rest of the year will hopefully be kinder to all of us.

To preserve the feelings of rebirth, growth, and hope that the spring season symbolizes, let’s embark on a brief journey of the history of floral prints and embroideries that have made their way onto flowy curtains, cozy armchairs, and—of course—clothing. 

The origin of floral fabrics was rooted in an appreciation for different flowers that not only symbolized femininity but also held various cultural and historical meanings. Floral fabrics first emerged in Asia, where cultures attached significance to different flowers. For example, Japanese farmers used to mark the blooming of sakura (cherry blossoms) as time to plant their rice crops. Sakura has become a defining feature of Japanese culture, and it is even considered Japan’s unofficial national flower.

As shown below, sakura is not the only flower printed on Japanese kimonos. From backdrop to headdress to kimono, vivid flowers and floral prints meld into a rich image of cultural beauty and significance.

Flickr, Melissa Rose Chasse

Bokksu

Moving on to floral fabrics in China, flower designs were usually painted or embroidered on pieces of cloth or directly on dresses. Peonies and lotus flowers are especially important to Chinese culture; peony is a symbol of power, wealth, and class, and lotus symbolizes purity of the body and mind. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Qing dynasty (1644-1911) silk gauze robe with lotus flowers and butterflies embroidery. 

Fromental

Museum of Arts & Sciences

Chintz, a popular floral fabric that Europeans used for interior design (e.g., carpets, bedcovers, wallcoverings) and eventually for fashion, originated in modern-day India and Pakistan thousands of years ago, where it was produced and exported long before it was exposed to the European population. Chintz refers to glazed cotton that is usually printed with colorful flowers and patterns. The fabric flourished in Europe in the 17th century through trade, and it even became a threat to England and France’s own textile mills. Europeans attempted to produce their own chintz, but they couldn’t reproduce the same saturated colors that Indian craftsmen did using local dyes like indigo. 

BBC

According to BBC, “The textile for this jacket was hand-drawn and dyed in southeast India in the 18th century, then tailored in Europe.”

T Magazine, The New York Times

These are only a few examples of floral fabrics that have permeated throughout fashion history. The diversity of fabric material and floral designs reminds us that there are always origins and significance to our clothes—whether they be trendy floral skirts or embroidered silk blouses. With manufacturing technology and mass production, we’ve become acclimated to taking fashion trends at face value, often forgetting that every shade of dye, pattern design, and fabric thread was historically hand-picked and produced with one’s respective culture and history in mind. The histories behind our modern world are hidden treasures that will continue to amaze us as we uncover them.

With that, let’s hope that next year’s blossoms will continue to bloom abundantly. Adieu, spring!

- Ashley Leung