10/24/2026
I was thrilled to be invited to reimagine Peggy Scott and Bertha Russell in flowers for Fleurs de Villes and The Gilded Age at the The Plaza Hotel . After my time with George 😉, it was so fun (and challenging). With 5 days to create the dresses and then an overnight install, my stamina and endurance were tested, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
Could not have done it without my right hand woman Samantha Milhaven ! She was still going strong right beside me at 7:30am after working all day and all night!
So if you’re in NYC this week, go say hi to Bertha and Peggy! And watch the season premiere of The Gilded Age on HBO on November 1.
Everything you see, apart from the mannequins, is plant material.
Bertha was made mostly from dried materials, including delphinium that I dried in silica for her skirt. The “lace” part of her dress is made of skeleton leaves, some hand dyed to match a dress wears in the show. Her puff sleeves, back, and blue ribbon front are made out of lotus leaves from SeJean Tuma, Flores Temporis (Jean rows out in a canoe to harvest them!). I think the best part of her is her hair which is made of banana fiber, but you can’t see it because she’s so tall. (Scroll to see a photo before installation.)
Peggy Denée Benton is largely floral with a bodice made of corn husk. Her jacket “fabric” adornment and underskirt are made of banana leaves and the collar and skirt trim are made of hand dyed cattails.
Peggy
Hair: h**p over stipa grass
Jacket: cornhusk
Jacket adornment: banana leaf
Underskirt: banana leaf
Collar and skirt trim: cattail
Pin: gourd with poppy, ilex berry and cinnamon stick
Earrings: poppy and ilex berry
Bertha
Hair: banana fiber
Dress lace: skeleton leaves
Back, puff sleeves and blue front: lotus leaf
Blue part of skirt: delphinium
Earrings: poppy, allium stem and cedrela pods
