Spring has officially gone into session: The Walnut Room on the seventh floor of Macy’s on State Street has bloomed with flora of all colors and creations to create the annual Flower Show.
This year’s theme was “Journey to Paradisios,” where lush flowers, neon lighting and peculiar decor take you through your wildest space journey.
“I actually felt like I was transported into the story of this year’s flower show versus the previous year I attended,” said Carley Ives, who attended the flower show last spring. “So much thought was put into it. From the giant props to each individual petal — brava to the artists.”
The artists who work on creating the visuals for the flower show are a group of Columbia College Chicago students who are part of a visual merchandising practicum class that partners with Macy’s to immerse these students in real-world work.
The job of these students was to create six mannequins to represent six different concepts of the “Journey to Paradisios” theme. The students did everything from stretching the designs of their creations to buying all of the materials — right down to handmaking everything to truly bring the mannequins to life.
Rachel Zuckerberg, a fashion business student at Columbia College, was one of the nine artists in the practicum class. She worked on the concepts: “Blast Off Garden” and “Floating City Caverns.”
“The mannequins don’t even look like mannequins anymore,” Zuckerberg said. “They are weird and unique representations of the retro planet Paradisios, which is what we transformed Macy’s into. It’s surreal to see my displays up in Macy’s where thousands gather for this event once a year. I felt challenged to think outside of the box, and feel honored to have such an amazing experience in an important time of my career.”
Many attendees appreciate the creativity and hard work Zuckerberg and the other local artists put into the show.
“I think the visual aspects of what these artists have done are really impeccable,” said Austin Stevens, a first time attendee of the show. “The show is an amazing showcase of the artistic talent in the city.”
The Flower Show is held in only three Macy’s flagship stores in the country: Chicago, New York City and San Francisco. The Flower Show in Chicago started March 24 and will run through April 7 at Macy’s, 111 N. State St.
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