Elle CANADA | Meet the Haute Couture Artisan Who Transforms Plastic Waste Into Floral Creations
Take a step inside the studio of William Amor.
We’ve all heard the axiom that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but nowhere is this better exemplified than in the remarkable workshop of plasticien William Amor, who once dreamed of being a botanist but now creates fanciful floral hybrids for haute couture maisons. Upon entering his atelier in the Villa du Lavoir, a small enclave of artisan studios in Paris’ 10th Arrondissement, you are greeted by a lush garden—populated by poppies, roses, irises and mimosas—along the windowsill. Upon closer inspection, you’ll see that the blooms reveal their true nature: They’re actually made from plastic waste, now irrevocably crafted into something precious and beautiful. Amor’s philosophy is not only poetic but practical too: “I try to be an alchemist by transforming what is judged to be of no value into the most beautiful thing on earth: a flower.” Elevating seemingly worthless materials—namely, discarded plastic from everyday life—is the objective of his work; he aims to impart meaning and dignity to objects we consider to have fulfilled their one purpose.
Amor started out more than 20 years ago with a desire to bring attention to the problem of single-use plastics in our careless throwaway culture. Growing up in the French countryside, he gravitated toward the field of botany but then realized that the detached scientific approach to nature didn’t appeal to him. Upon moving to Paris from Nancy in the mid-2000s, he worked in communications, representing artisans and creatives in the fashion sector. Then, inspired by the craftsmanship of paruriers fabricating flowers for haute couture houses, Amor found himself looking for ways to connect with his own creative ambitions. The plastic bag, he decided, was a good place to start as it had the potential to be manipulated and shaped into the petals of his envisioned blooms.
Entirely self-taught, Amor is a rarity in the world of haute couture, where most artisans learn via long apprenticeships with legacy houses. He started his studio in 2015 and named it Les Créations Messagères—“creations with a message” solidifying his commitment to looking at ecology as a poetic offering. He was honoured with an artist-in-residence studio term with the Ateliers de Paris in 2017 and won a number of prestigious awards, including the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris in 2019. In addition to realizing sumptuous fantasies for the designers of haute couture brands from Balmain to Balenciaga, Amor has created pieces for beauty brands Guerlain and Lancôme and luxury-jewellery maisons Chopard and Piaget.
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