With a slew of inspirational influencers and designer collaborations on the market, getting your hands dirty has never looked quite so chic
When news broke that 81-year-old Hermès heir Nicolas Puech was planning to leave his US$20 billion fortune to his longtime gardener, eyebrows were raised from here to France—though not necessarily among the fashion set. From Yves Saint Laurent’s Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh to Hubert de Givenchy’s decades-long collaboration with his dear friend, client and legendary green thumb Bunny Mellon, a well-tended garden has always been one of the ultimate expressions of truly great taste (Mellon’s gardening hats and smocks were custom-made Givenchy, bien sur).
“Gardening is therapeutic for me, and I eagerly anticipate spending time in my garden out East during the summer and fall,” says Todd Snyder, who recently collaborated with the owners of Windham, NY-based boutique Gardenheir after learning about their work from colleagues. “While I may not be a horticultural expert, tending to my plants for the upcoming seasons brings me joy.”
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It stands to reason that a fashion designer would take a natural shine gardening, not only given the play of colour and scale and the desire to achieve an ideal composition but the simple seasonality of it all. For a profession that must constantly work in the future tense, such a hobby offers an opportunity to slow down while still planning ahead. Much like a creative establishing a brand’s DNA over many seasons, the greatest gardens take time to mature. “The appeal of this collaboration stems from our shared commitment with the Gardenheir founders to modernize traditional field clothing while preserving its genuine functionality and purpose,” says Snyder.
“We are on the cusp of another shift in menswear, where the outdoors and a connection to nature is becoming more and more desired,” he adds, noting that the market’s desire for stylish “workwear” is showing no signs of waning. Last summer appeared to mark a pivotal moment when Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson tapped renowned green thumb Charlie McCormick—1/2 of one of Britain’s most stylish couples along with decorator extraordinaire Ben Pentreath, whose clients include the Prince and Princess of Wales—to front a campaign promoting the Spanish luxury brand’s new range of fruit and vegetable-scented candles.
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Ditto multi-hyphenate Jasper Conran, who despite having recently opened a boutique hotel in Morocco and designing clothing and home decor, appears to be most at ease in his glorious English garden. Perhaps that’s how he manages it all with such style? And I’d be remiss to not mention Flamingo Estate, one of the most exciting brands to emerge in recent years, which grew out of a single Los Angeles garden and produces small-batch items such as local honey made in partnership with likeminded celebrities such as Jane Goodall.
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What to do should you have been born with a black thumb? “We completely understand that there are plenty of others who’ve discovered us and have no experience or interest in gardening . . . at least not yet!” say Gardenheir founders Alan Calpe and Christopher Crawford. In fact, I know several stylish New Yorkers who swear by the duo’s cork-lined, Italian-made clogs that come in a rainbow of colours.
Do Calpe and Crawford worry at all about it being a fleeting trend? “We’re flattered that Gardenheir draws in a fashion or design-driven customer. But we know the trendiness of things can come and go,” says Crawford. “While gardening is certainly having a moment, our feeling is that gardening ultimately isn’t a trend, but rather a classic that is just starting to be recognised in the United States the way it has in Europe and other parts of the world for quite a long time.”
This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Givenchy
