Olivier Theyskens has worked together with French photographer Julien Claessens throughout his career, with Julien capturing many of the defining moments of Olivier’s work at the houses of Rochas and Nina Ricci in their recent book “The Other Side of the Picture”.

For NºD, the pair created this series of exotically dark still-lifes in the forests surrounding the Château de la Hulpe, just outside of Brussels. The bouquets of freshly-cut flowers were ‘styled’ by Olivier himself, spewing forth with sickly vibrant citrus yellows and oranges or a barrage of stark white punctuated with deep, royal blue. The blooms seem awkwardly displaced within the environment, resting in the fork of a barren tree or sitting among a wild patch of weeds.

(The series was grouped together under the title ‘Flower fantasy’ in the printed issue from 2004, but for our 2010 online release Olivier chose to spread the images through the magazine as inspirational moments in between text and other stories.)

Photography: Julien Claessens
Bouquets: Olivier Theyskens
Thanks to: Le Domaine du Château de la Hulpe, Agnes Magoga, Françoise Theyskens, Claire Moury, Nicole Minguet, Maguy Duby, Christopher Claessens, Robert Kol.