Giubbilei selected a range of 11,000 grasses and perrenials to transform the Gendarmerie Nationale-Garde Républicaine on Bd Henri IV into an incredible late-summer meadow runway. All the plants were supplied and sourced by Hortus Loci from European nurseries, such as Jan Spruyt, Arno Rijnbeek, Kris Stevens and Valfredda.
The imaginative and covetable project was brought to life by Jonny Bruce and team. For more intriguing behind the scenes images and background, see @j.bruce.garden.
Luciano Giubbilei began his career in gardens when he moved from his birthplace, Siena, to London in 1994. By 1997, he had completed his studies at the Inchbald School of Design and established his own practice. He began working on his experimental border at Great Dixter in 2012, after a transformative residency working alongside head gardener Fergus Garrett. This experience inspired a shift, encouraging an exploration of planting possibilities that has lead the studio towards larger landscape projects in Europe and the US. This evolution is documented in his most recent book, the Art of Making Gardens.
This isn’t the first garden designer to feature their cunning on the catwalk. Nigel Dunnett and Alexandra Noble collaborated in 2022 to create an exotic, Henri Rousseau inspired landscape for the Zimmerman 2023 spring collection show at Paris Fashion Week.