The Messenger Poppy: Kenzo Parfums x William Amor’s upcycling art 

 

 

 

 

Kenzo Parfums and artist William Amor present The Messenger Poppy, a unique goodwill holiday gift crafted from upcycled materials.

Plastic bags and plastic fibers recovered from fishing nets and rops were used by artist William Amor to be transformed into a message of hope.

For the holiday season, Kenzo Parfums has collaborated with sculptor William Amor to transform the Poppy flower, the iconic emblem of Kenzo Parfums, into a a sculptural flower handcrafted from recovered waste materials.

Signed and numbered by William Amor, each poppy is a unique artistic creation, a sculptural flower made by hand from upcycled waste. William Amor recovers materials himself on the beaches of the Landes, in Paris, and by organizing recycling by the artistic community around him.

William Amor is a visual artist and “material ennobler”. Formerly artist in residence at the Ateliers de Paris, he has made upcycling an art form, transforming waste materials into artistic creations. William Amor recovers materials himself on the beaches of the Landes, in Paris, and by organizing recycling by the artistic community around him.

For Kenzo Parfums, William Amor reinterpreted the Maison’s iconic poppy, creating a field of 250 flowers from unused materials. The resulting artistic message is both socially committed and participative, since each poppy has a paper ribbon on which people wrote wishes for a more beautiful world.

The poppy petals are made from transformed plastic bags, and the heart of the flowers is crafted from plastic fibers recovered from fishing nets and ropes. The floral creation is shaped around a silver metal base fitted with a stainless steel stem. The entire work is mounted on a painted cube made of solid beech wood from French forests.

“I am a Messenger! No need for water, soil or sun, like my friends, the original poppies. I need a little bit of care from you to stay beautiful and radiant,” say the instructions for care.

“Help me open so that I can blossom. With a gentle breath, my petals will reveal themselves. Delicately, place my lower petals in a slightly drooping position to reveal my pretty corolla. With your fingertips or a pair of tweezers, spread my stamens in the shape of a star. To return me to my bud, hold me gently pressed in your hand and stroke me from bottom to top in a gentle caress. Repeat this gesture. This will revive my pleats, but watch out for kinks! I like my red dress to flaunt its beautiful straight folds.”

Until January 31, 2020 Kenzo Parfums is organizing a charity sale of “The Messenger Poppy Kenzo Parfums x William Amor”.

Kenzo Parfums and William Amor will donate over half the amount from each poppy sold to the program “Orange Blossom, For a More Beautiful World”, which works for responsible sourcing of orange blossoms and empowerment of women in Morocco.