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Field of Dreams: Doan Ly Florals

“This voice emerged that I didn't know existed that had strong opinions, and developed a strong visual vernacular.”

With a foot in both art and design, Doan Ly’s studio a.p. bio elevates floral design to something totally new.

At the intersection of floral design, prop styling, photography and video, Doan Ly’s Brooklyn based studio a.p. bio has an unmistakable aesthetic and vision. Like something from a dream, the studio’s signature saturated colors and unexpected compositions form a body of work that is as diverse as it is coherent.  You’ve probably seen a.p. bio’s  multidisciplinary work, if not for Velvet then for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue, Carolina Herrera, HBO, Steven Spielberg and countless others. With the recently published retrospective “Still Life,” a collection of Ly’s own photographs of her inimitable compositions, we’re diving into the dream world of Ly’s work.

“This voice emerged that I didn't know existed that had strong opinions, and developed a strong visual vernacular.”-Desktop “This voice emerged that I didn't know existed that had strong opinions, and developed a strong visual vernacular.”-Mobile
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Ly immigrated from Vietnam to the United States in her early childhood, spending a year in between at a refugee camp in Indonesia. Part of surviving the experience was her imagination and ability to see the magic in naturally occurring objects. “My memory of it is not the starkness of our living conditions but more of the natural world and how magical it was — in my imagination it was very transformed.” Crafting nature into narrative, each of Ly’s compositions tell a unique story. Taking the name from high school Advanced Placement Biology, the studio’s moniker is a nod to the world of natural forms which Ly paints her canvas with. Always embracing the ethereal, naturally occurring forms can become transcendent things of beauty in her hands. With florals at the center of her practice, the imagery is ripe with associations to markers of time — from funerals to weddings — at the core of the human experience.

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Photography and styling were natural and practical expansions to her practice, with photos serving to attract more clients, while at the same time expanding her discipline. Never limiting herself, her styling goes beyond the use of florals to sometimes use the human form, often fruits, quotidian objects and in photography, the actual lighting and reflection. For an ephemeral feel, Ly leverages a long exposure time, doing little work in post-production and minimal editing. “It’s all in the camera,” says Ly.

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“I'm bored by this very naturalistic, very organic, dutch master feel. I'm more curious about surrealism. The saturation, the alienist of it. I wanted it to feel strange, and kept pushing further.”

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Shop the Story

A woman in a Velvet by Graham & Spencer CLARISSA COTTON GAUZE TIERED DRESS with puffed sleeves stands beside a flowing white fabric with a sea background under clear skies.

clarissa cotton gauze tiered dress

$145.00
$145.00 $207.00
A woman wearing a FRASER PRINTED SILK COTTON VOILE TOP from Velvet by Graham & Spencer and denim shorts posing against a plain background.

fraser printed silk cotton voile top

$83.00
$83.00 $207.00
A woman stands against a plain white wall wearing the CHRISSY DRESS by Velvet by Graham & Spencer, a short white cotton dress with puffy sleeves and a v-neckline, subtly adorned with floral embroidery. She pairs it with black strappy sandals. She has long, straight hair and a relaxed expression.

chrissy dress

$104.00
$104.00 $260.00
A person stands against a white background wearing a cream sweater, Velvet by Graham & Spencer BAILEY LINEN MAXI SKIRT with an elastic drawstring waist, and sandals.

bailey linen maxi skirt

$96.00
$96.00 $239.00

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