Lutfi Janania with his installation for “Flower Craft” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
Photo: Ricardo Rivera
Creative Mind: Lutfi Janania
The Honduras native composes majestic arrangements of exotic blooms that capture attention with their intoxicating sense of movement
Lutfi Janania. Photo: Cheril Sanches
Raised in a bio reserve in Honduras, floral designer Lutfi Janania vividly recalls growing up surrounded by the thick, tropical foliage that now finds its way into his exuberant arrangements. “I was always in nature,” he says. “As a kid, my thing was being adventurous and curious and learning about plants, but I was also crafty.” His early fascination with making things led to a career in fashion, but in 2020 he shifted gears and opened his own floral studio, Rosalila, producing ethereal installations for clients such as Buccellati and Mara Hoffman that astound with a sense of movement, an effect he conjures by envisioning a showgirl with an oversize headpiece, arms raised, skirt swirling.
Branching out: In addition to his audacious bouquets and botanical sculptures, which were featured this past summer in the Museum of Arts and Design “Flower Craft” exhibition, Janania constructs playful mirrors adorned with robust swirls of sculpted palm fibers and plans to introduce a collection of ceramic vessels made using a traditional smoking technique from the Lenca community. “There’s so much energy that goes into the creation of the floral installations, and it’s so ephemeral. I almost want that sentiment to be permanent in the world—that’s what I want to achieve with my objects.”
Installation view of the Museum of Arts and Design exhibition “Flower Craft.”
Installation view of Lutfi Janania's work as part of the Museum of Arts and Design exhibition “Flower Craft.”
“As a kid, my thing was being adventurous and curious and learning about plants, but I was also crafty”
lutfi janania
Floral arrangement by Lutfi Janania's Rosalila. Photo: Maksim Axelrod
Up next: Following collaborations with Hennessy and Phillip Lim, he’ll relocate in March to a new studio, where he’ll experiment with large-scale versions of his textural mirrors.
Floral installation by Lutfi Janania at Angel Chang's Spring/Summer 23 fashion presentation at Pace Gallery.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2023 Spring Issue under the headline “Creative Minds.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: Lutfi Janania with his installation for “Flower Craft” at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
Photo: Ricardo Rivera
