The History of Artificial Flowers

Artificial flowers originated in China. Around 1,500 years ago, the Chinese began crafting artificial flowers from silk. At first, these flowers were reserved for royalty, and the ladies of the Imperial Palace would order silk flowers to wear in their hair. The trend soon spread among other royals and upper-class citizens in Japan, Korea, and beyond through trade routes. In the 12th century, Italian merchants also began to craft artificial flowers using silkworm cocoons. While Italians were the originators of the craft in Europe, the French soon mastered the art and by the 15th century, French silk flowers were considered the best. After the French Revolution, many artisans fled to England and brought their craft with them. From there, silk flowers made their way to America. Silk flowers exploded in popularity once more during the Victorian era. For the first time, artisans began using materials other than silk to create artificial flowers, including satin, velvet, muslin, cambric, crepe, and gauze. By 1920, florists had begun to supplement live blooms with silk flowers when certain varieties were out of season. In the modern era, most artificial flowers are mass-produced in China’s Guangdong Province and are made from polyester and plastic, giving the artificial blooms an incredible sense of realism and impressive durability that would have been unheard of in ancient times.