Flowers Bloom on Fifth Avenue Thanks to Van Cleef & Arpels

By Jill Brooke

Flower installations interpreted by artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet are blooming on NYC’s Fifth Avenue.

For the month of May, Van Cleef & Arpels in partnership with the Fifth Avenue Association in NYC, have lined the streets from 50th to 59th with what they call a colorful 3-D ‘unfolding garden complete with interactive elements, day-to-night visibility and sketch-like design to welcome spring to New Yorkers.

These structures offer a respite for New Yorkers on the go to stop, and maybe not smell the roses, since there are few live flowers, but to be amused by the whimsical designs of world-renowned artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet.

“I am very excited to see my designs at this scale and the unfolding gardens displayed in such a vibrant and inspiring place,” says Alexandre Benjamin Navet, who in 2018, was honored at the MAD (Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris) – with Espèces d’espaces – at its new Galerie d’Actualités.“This season’s dialogue with the Maison is inspired by a walk in a beautiful garden.”

These fantastical structures aren’t exact replicas of the violets, peonies, clematis, and delphiniums he had swirling in his brain. “They are flowers from my imagination to inspire,” says Navet, who Van Cleef first collaborated with in 2020 to adorn multiple boutique façades with his work. The company later commissioned him in 2022 for the first Fifth Avenue Blooms™

People passing by were delighted by the installations.

“Very colorful,” said Christine Cordero.

Elina Petranovic agreed. “When everything is grey outside, you then have these colors.”

Now in its third year, Van Cleef continues to grow this collaboration.

Helen King, President and CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels Americas looks at it as a gift to New Yorkers to welcome spring and possibility. Furthermore, the company is also famous for its flower inspired jewelry which adds to the synchronicity of the collaboration.

“It is a season filled with brighter days, nature in bloom, and the re-emergence of all New Yorkers,” she says. “This year, we are engaging the public with cultural programming and creative sensorial elements to honor this initiative. Our partnership with the Fifth Avenue Association has allowed “Fifth Avenue Blooms™ imagined by Van Cleef & Arpels” to grow and flourish.”

For example, this year’s structures have been conceived to engage with some sensorial elements. Select structures will be animated with auditory or moving elements, an immersive sound experience, and they will also be illuminated at night, echoing the design on the façade of the Maison’s New York Flagship on 57th Street.

Furthermore, for the first three weekends in the month of May, Van Cleef & Arpels will engage the public with a daytime. program highlighted by cultural partners and activities designed for families and visitors to the Avenue in celebration of “Fifth Avenue Blooms.™

Live contemporary dance performances, children’s storybook readings, live painting, poetry readings, and educational conversations will be scheduled at The 550 Garden at 550 Madison Avenue and around the New York City area during daytime hours on those weekends. Elements of Alexandre Benjamin Navet’s spring universe will also be present at the Plaza Hotel and the Peninsula Hotel.

Although there are primarily begonias lining the flower pots on 3D garden, the architectural structures do scream spring and fun which is exactly the vibe you want when strolling down Fifth Avenue.

Photos: Van Cleef & Arpels, Flower Power Daily

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD and a contributor to Florists Review magazine. She also won the 2023 AIFD (American Institute of Floral Design.) Merit Award for showing how flowers impact history, news and culture