Seeds of design:

I believe there absolutely has to be great garden design inspiration. None more so than this fabulous Balenciaga exhibition held in 2017 at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The seed of inspiration

The quality of the exhibition bowled me over. Cristóbal Balenciaga’s Spanish heritage influenced many of his iconic designs. His wide-hipped dresses from the late 1930s drew on the portraiture of artist Diego Velázquez. Flamenco dresses, matador outfits and black lace feature heavily. In the 1950s, he began pioneering new shapes never before seen in women’s fashion. None more so than in this fabulous ballgown from the 1950s. A huge, dramatic full skirt from waist to floor and a wraparound shawl, covers the arms. Balenciaga is considered the master of inspiration, cut, shape and materials.

A Balenciaga dress. Perfect garden design inspiration

The garden design bud

This garden is bold. Similar to Balenciaga’s one scene dress, it mixes the component parts of the ballgown. A huge fan of lawn fills the space, offering a welcoming space for all the family to enjoy. The main patio is shown as a crossover in black slate on limestone. Where the two lines meet, details could be added. It thrusts out into the lawn creating a wonderful platform for entertaining. The planting is stylish and mixed, focusing on form and shape, it is strong and architectural. While not being complex, the planting provides enough interest to keep the eye moving in anticipation.

A wide, fan lawn fills the space in this garden design

Other design influences

The dress reminds me of latticework. A warp-and-weft woven material is also an influence. The spread of the hand fan reminds me of the lawn whilst an iconic 60s glass-top table again features the same shapes.

Influences include warp-and-weft weave, fans… and lattice pies, yum!