THE GARDEN THAT I LOVE
Everything seamlessly fell into place as British couturier Laura Green developed her Melbourne Collection, a limited-edition edit of silk velvet dresses. The first piece of the story was established while she worked with a private client, artist Marie-Claire Kerr.
Flower paintings, landscapes and still lives form an important part of Marie-Claire’s portfolio: many of the paintings feature her 17-acre baroque garden at Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire.
“No-one has a garden like hers,” says Laura, of the impressive sanctuary that features long vistas, fountains, avenues, a statue by the 17th-century Dutch sculptor Jan van Nost and a heady mass of flowers.
Laura tells us how much she enjoys making clothes for Marie-Claire because, “She is a very fluid person”, and during one particular fitting she suggested that she should, “Wear her art”.
She tells us, “The feast of colour in her paintings is just magnificent. I said, ‘You need to
