Vine Los Angeles on Infusing TV With Floral Drama
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MILAN — The resurrected elegant one-shoulder black Valentino gown from Jennifer Aniston’s 2010 Golden Globes look wasn’t the only eye-catching detail on “The Morning Show,” season three, episode seven Wednesday. The floral arrangements, by Vine Los Angeles, were also curated to match the Italian maison’s signature Pink PP — with pink Floyd roses, garden roses, orchids, spray-painted amaranthus, brains celosia and peonies.
Vine Los Angeles founder and creative director Olya Fentsur Harris told WWD that she carefully architected the floral combo to complement to Valentino’s near-unattainable iconic shade. The florist’s own pink Valentino stilettos were a source of inspiration.
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“My love for that pink aside…it would have been almost impossible to get their exact shade of pink in a floral, so I did tests of different tones and structures — taking them to set for meetings with the team. The final designs ended up becoming a combination of different florals that complement the overall pink look and help add texture to the scene,” Fentsur Harris said.
The former film studies major and model started Vine Los Angeles right before the pandemic after completing a weeklong course at Flower School Los Angeles. She then booked some of her smaller scale creations on commercials through existing contacts, which was “the most important part of working in Hollywood” and the foundation of the complex juggling act of building and maintaining relationships. It was during that period she met set director Laurie Martell, with whom she now works together on “The Morning Show.”
Season three of the hit Apple TV series airs on the streaming platform on Wednesdays. The star-studded cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup and Julianna Margulies. The soap opera-style drama about a morning news broadcast show most recently added Emmy-winning actor Jon Hamm to the cast, as well as Nicole Beharie.
The show’s costumes, which span broadcast news-ready power suits and cashmere sweaters for casualwear, have been the work of three costume designers: Sophie de Rakoff, Debra McGuire and Beth Lancaster.
In addition to “The Morning Show,” Fentsur Harris’ intricate designs have also made their debut on commercials featuring “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” Designing for TV, she said, is a hustle. The vibe on the “The Morning Show” set is “get it done.” Keeping up with that sort of pace led to her fixing an arrangement at 5 a.m. in the garage of the L.A. flower market one morning, before speeding off to Sony Pictures to be there by 7 a.m., after the brief was received the night before.
“You’re on the spot and making decisions fast. Surrounded by an incredible cast and crew. The pace of shooting is fast and furious,” she added.
The key difference between event design and design for television is that the florist has a role in the evolving storyline and thinking about what color scheme the character would have in the home, or what style would be a best fit, she explained. In addition, flowers are adjusted for camera point of view, which involves taking cues from the production designer and set decorator. “The Morning Show” production designer is Nelson Coates, who has worked on an impressive roster of films including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “The Proposal.”
The evolving love affair between Alex Levy, played by Aniston, and Paul Marks, played by Hamm, called for more romantic florals, rather than the usual structural white arrangements.
“Now, her flowers are more romantic — sexier! — in her apartment. The set decorator, Laurie, asked us to think about what type of flowers Alex would pick out at a market. What colors would they be? So I guess those ‘lost weekends’ have made her want soft pinks mixed in with her usual white,” Fentsur Harris reflected.
Fentsur Harris was a teen model in Ukraine and in 1996 she walked the catwalk for local designers during Fashion Week in Kyiv. In 2000 she moved to New Zealand, where she continued modeling and shooting editorials for Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan, an experience that she said cultivated her unique sense of taste and flair for creating magic.
Off set, her regular clients include Alexa Dell and interior designer to the stars, Windsor Smith. No matter what the occasion, flowers, she said, infuse the set with a sense of tenderness.
“Whether it’s a simple office scene or a Valentino fashion event, flowers can help change the emotion of that moment. They can create a spectacle or simply play a supporting role in the scene.”
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