Five Star Flower Power

Ovando

Sometimes, simply nothing says it as well as flowers, and never more so than when the blooms in question come from New York’s most stylish florist to the stars, Sandra de Ovando. Soon after moving to the city in 2003, Ovando launched her business initially as a retail-only venture, but the brand’s wild success from the outset saw a speedy expansion to include a full scale event design business as well as a huge weekly accounts department, servicing some of NYC’s biggest corporations, cultural institutions and celebrities including Hugh Jackman, Donna Karan and Catherine Malandrino.

One peep at Ovando’s stunning designs leaves little wonder as to how she has ascended to such lofty heights. In a city arguably the most event-heavy in the world, not to mention one of the most romance-obsessed, her signature style stands out for its use of bold colours, eye-catching graphics and an effortless ‘simple, not simplistic’ philosophy that shines through across myriad arrangements, from the minimal to the extravagant, like the designs she created for Tim Burton’s 2009-10 MoMA exposition launch party – a fittingly mystical, dark and romantic tangle of creeping wisteria vines, blood-red roses, moss and purple orchids. Settle, petal!