Ashley Graham Has Officially Given The Floral Dress The Green Light For Spring

Florals might be the ultimate perennial print, but they’ve also suffered reputational damage in recent seasons too. ‘Florals for spring? Ground-breaking,’ Miranda Priestly once said, one of the most withering lines of dialogue from The Devil Wears Prada, while the once ubiquitous floral-dress-and-white-trainers outfit formula was recently relegated to the ‘basic’ bin by Gen Z.

Ashley Graham, however, just gave the floral dress the green light for spring. Out and about this weekend, the model wore a thigh-high ruched mini covered in soft-focus florals, which is the only evidence this fashion editor needs to declare floral dress season open.

The catwalks also made a case for a new kind of floral, rebranding the print with a ditsy spin that was front and centre of so many spring/summer collections that even the most botanically-opposed fashion editors were forced to sit up and pay attention.

At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson’s floral made its not-so-subtle mark across a series of hoop-skirted frocks that were brought down to earth by humble footwear like hi-tops, loafers and brogues. (The overall effect? A modern take on William Morris.) Jil Sander, meanwhile, printed a patent leather coat with spriggy bouquets of wild-flowers. Prada’s first look out of the gate was a re-imagination of the floral slip dress (bow-tied at the shoulders and semi-sheer), while Emilia Wickstead gave low-slung skirts and the briefest crop tops a hint of the Chelsea Flower Show, with a soft-focus print that resembled a romantic cascade of stems captured mid-fall.

Even labels that don’t specialise in girlishness or flounce gave the humble floral its flowers this season. Acne Studios went a step further than ditsy, sending a pair of digitally-printed boots down the catwalk that would definitely trump gardening clogs. Graham's dress is by Collina Strada, a brand who took the floral into the future with one long-stemmed rose on the bodice of a gauze dress that was anything but garden-variety at its most recent show.

‘I like to reimagine traditional floral motifs, making them feel hand-drawn, exaggerated or abstract,’ says Collina Strada’s creative director Hillary Taymour. ‘I want each print to feel imperfect in a way that reflects the brand’s embrace of individuality.’ Taymour has one consideration in mind when thinking of her customer in something floral. ‘I want them to feel original and their authentic self,’ she says.

Even the high street has raised its floral game in recent years, with graphic takes every spring/ summer that feel similarly unique at brands such as Arket, COS and Jigsaw.

Authenticity is the key when it comes to wearing this season’s new-and-improved florals. You can channel Audrey Hepburn, communicating the kind of wholesome sunniness that her daisy-print frock projected in Funny Face (who wouldn’t smile in a custom-made wardrobe of Hubert de Givenchy?). Or you can go a shade darker. Lady Macbeth, after all, advised, ‘Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t’; not an entirely bad call if you’re trying to bring a touch of moodiness to the table. Think of The Virgin Suicides, whose ensemble cast dressed in chintz nightdresses, recalibrated the floral as something with the potential to be subversive.

Take a look at the red carpet for inspiration on your own interpretation. Ayo Edebiri got first dibs on Loewe, wearing the brand’s new-fangled floral dress just 24 hours after it appeared on the runway. Zoe Saldana, meanwhile, went for a rose-printed wiggle dress by Marni, proving that florals have plenty of va-va-voom.

If you don’t identify as a ‘dress person’, look to the actor Danielle Deadwyler, who recently wore a flower-power blazer courtesy of Gucci, making the case for daisies to be elevated from weed status to something decidedly less drab. Chloë Sevigny packed a printed skirt suit, Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, to the Sundance Film Festival, with a jacquard fabrication that gave the floral a tapestry-esque flavour.

Despite their inspiration being of a transient nature, a good floral print has the potential to be a staple all year round. Katie Ruensumran, creative consultant and art director who documents her famously exuberant wardrobe via the handle @katieismonster, calls florals, and spotting the print in the wild, her ‘personal obsession’, adding that she certainly doesn’t save them for spring. ‘I’m keen to wear them more during autumn and winter. They can truly brighten up those duller, chillier days,’ she insists, thinking of her treasured collection of floral Comme des Garçons.

Caroline Issa, CEO and fashion director of Tank Magazine, wears florals on repeat. Her pro tip for a floral dress that will unequivocally slay its competition? ‘I have a purple floral dress that is a pre-fall Prada. I find their in-between season collections always hold really pretty floral dresses that you’ll never see on the runway, but are bold and classic at the same time. If you pop into the shop in May/June, you’ll find them and live in them all summer.’ (For a high street alternative try Desigual, whose blown-up florals are fun and statement-making.)

Otherwise, you can sow the seeds of change by adding a floral gesture to your outfit rather than a full-on print. Issa suggests a brooch (à la Prada), while at couture fashion week, singer Joyce Cisse, known appropriately by the name Flowerovlove, wore black ankle socks pinned with camellia rosettes outside Chanel. Start now and you’ll be in full bloom come summer.

Shop: The Best Floral Dresses For 2025

Natalie Hammond is Grazia’s Senior Fashion News Editor. She loves winter, hates summer and can often be found writing about the weather (and what on earth to wear).