26 AUTUMN//WINTER 2017 TREND WATCH: BOTANICALS IT’S NO surprise that Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2017 is ‘Greenery.’ This fresh, zesty hue – in Pantone’s words ‘a life-affirming shade of green’ – reflects a wider design trend ubiquitous across the home, fashion and stationery sectors: botanicals. This year you can’t visit an interiors or stationery store without seeing tropical palm leaves, succulents and cacti adorning everything from wallpaper and cushions to notebooks and calendars. But this trend is about so much more than the colour green. Designers have found new inspiration in Victorian botanical illustration, using a more muted colour palette or even monochrome. Alice Scott’s Monochrome range for Portico Designs fulfils this trend with its intricate pen-and-ink patterns of palms, ferns and flowers. History lessons A genuine fascination for historical illustration drives the current trend. Frances Lincoln commissioning editor Nicki Davis, of the Quarto Group, explains why botanical designs resonate so strongly with consumers: “The world-famous RHS Lindley Library holds a unique and vast collection of botanical art from which we draw endless inspiration. There is something special about the elegantly realised detail of botanical illustrations which captures the imagination – the study of plants made accessible, beautiful and even decorative. The connection to nature lifts our spirits. This may go some way to explaining their current popularity as well as their enduring appeal.” Portico Designs has a range that sets out its store with its name: Botanique. This design celebrates Victorian botanical illustration in all its glory, with a pretty pastel rendition of traditional English roses, ladybirds and butterflies, with an exotic bird thrown in for good measure. Laura Stoddart’s award-winning illustrations JULIA FAIERS brings out the magnifying glass to inspect the current trend for everything botanical GOING GREEN THE CONNECTION TO NATURE LIFTS OUR SPIRITS. Boxclever Press Frances Lincoln Portico Designs