The recently refurbished David Jones Bourke Street flagship will see the return of its first Melbourne Flower Show in 17 years this spring, featuring 12 zero-waste installations.
Crafted by environmental activist and floral artist, Joost Bakker, it will be his largest exhibition to date, taking a year to complete.
The show includes all forms of nature, with hundreds of different species on display, all coming from suppliers, growers, and producers within kilometres of Bakker’s farm.
The flower show will be showcased across the store, windows and façades.
The biophilic installations are 100% locally and ethically grown, bred and sourced, and are a mix of both flora and fauna. This includes oyster mushrooms in candy hues, mycelium blocks, snails, a tank of rare golden barramundi, crickets other insects, all housed under canopies of tulips, golden elm branches, yellow forsythia, apple and pear blossom.
“I want to get people excited about the beauty that surrounds us,” Bakker said, “to understand and feel like they’re immersed in an ecosystem where every single element is connected.
“I believe we need to transition into a world where we generate no waste and I think the David Jones Flower Show will be a great example of how future floral installations can be designed,”
All elements of the installations will be repurposed at the conclusion of the show, according to Bakker, with tree trunks, organic waste, insects and vegetation being replanted and composted on Bakker’s property alongside installation infrastructure. Tulip bulbs will be gifted to staff and customers for replanting next season and fish will be returned to their ethical breeding program.
“My parents supplied David Jones flowers for the annual show in the 1980s, so being asked to design this year’s has been a very special and nostalgic experience,” Bakker continued.
“I've designed a closed loop system with interconnected parts, no different to how a natural environment works, and that’s my inspiration – a complete zero waste ecosystem that is biodiverse, interesting and beautiful.”
The flower show tradition began in the 1920s, when David Jones staff brought in flowers from their gardens, placing them on counters to celebrate the beginning of Spring. This then grew into a more formalised event with the introduction of festivals, before officially becoming the annual David Jones Spring Flower Show in 1985.
This year, the show is expected to attract visitors from hundreds of kilometres away, welcoming customers with live performances in store and champagne carts.
David Jones Bourke Street flagship manager Monique Murray said it is significant to see the David Jones Flower Show return “after so many years.”
“It’s a privilege to be working with Joost Bakker and we’re incredibly excited to see the unique show come to life alongside our new season offering,” Murray said.
“It is yet another reason to visit the David Jones Bourke Street Flagship.”
The Flower Show by Joost will be on public display from 10:00am today to 5:00pm Sunday, October 23, concluding with the introduction of bees on the store’s rooftop.
This coming weekend will see special events to mark the season, starting with a Champagne Cart on the ground floor this Thursday and Friday from 4pm to 9pm.
The weekend will see a “Vogue Fashion Night Out” on Friday from 3pm to 9pm on level 3, including a bar and DJ, along with live entertainment over the weekend between 12pm and 4pm.