Remembering the Sunflower Gown with floral artist Amy Ly
11 Monday May 2020
Written by Debra Prinzing in American Flowers Week 2017, Botanical Couture, Floral Design
Tags
Amy Kunkel-Patterson, Amy Ly, Anna Peters, Anna Peters Photography, Behind-the-scenes, Everyday Flowers, Gather Design Co., Kelly Uhlig, Sonshine Flower Farm, Sunflower dress, Vivian Larson, Yessie Makeup Artistry
Note: Amy Ly (formerly Amy Kunkel-Patterson) of Gather Design Co. in Seattle created the unforgettable SUNFLOWER GOWN for American Flowers Week in 2017. She recently posted about how she produced this exquisite floral garment, along with her recipe and techniques. Here is an excerpt and link to her full post and the full gallery of Anna Peters’ beautiful images.
The Sunflower Gown
I am the kind of person who always says yes to an outlandish idea, even before I know how I might make it happen. This dress came from one of those conversations, that went something like this:
Debra: I am starting to think about images to promote American Flowers Week 2017.
Amy: Oh, that’s exciting! What do you have in mind?
Debra: Well, I am wanting something really bold. I’d love to take what Susan McCleary did last year with botanical fashion and commission a designer to create something even bigger, like a whole dress made out of sunflowers. I want it to feel like classic Americana, but with a high end design.
Amy: Great, I’ll do it.
Debra: Wait, are you serious? Do you know how to create a dress out of flowers?
Amy: Not yet, but I will soon!
From this initial conversation in mid-August, we compared calendars and talked to the Seattle Wholesale Grower’s Market about when sunflowers would be at their peak, settling on a day in early September. Debra graciously let me choose the photographer for the project, and Anna Peters was the first person I called. I could tell she was skeptical when I explained the idea of a dress made out of sunflowers (I fear she was picturing something like this), but we’d worked together before and she trusted my idea and agreed.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF AMY’S STORY . . .
Amy’s post concludes with this:
Special thanks to the talented artists that lent their creativity to this one of a kind project!
Model: Kelly Uhlig of Sonshine Farm | Hair & Makeup: Yessie Makeup Artistry | Photography: Anna Peters | Shoot Location: Everyday Flowers, Stanwood, WA
This shoot was featured as part of American Flowers Week – you can read more of the story behind the gown in an interview with Amy, here.
