Eriko Nagata is the Founder and Lead Floral Designer of Eriko Nagata Floral Studio, a New York-based creative floral design studio specializing in floral design for events, commercial shoots, and editorials. The studio’s aesthetic is guided by Ikebana, art theory, and design principles, resulting in a style defined by modern elegance, dreamlike natural beauty, and a deep appreciation for seasonality. Eriko’s respect for nature and everlasting interest in art are reflected in each of her creations. This week, she's part of the florist special.
Eriko Nagata's Floral World Attracts Attention in New York
Eriko began her career in 2002 after studying Ikebana and European floral design at a floral design college in Japan. She went on to work as an exclusive floral designer at The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, before relocating to Paris, where she created floral arrangements for prestigious events, including Paris Fashion Week.
Since relocating to New York in 2015, her work has become a powerful presence across the city’s fashion and cultural landscape. She has designed floral sets for New York Fashion Week and created immersive botanical environments for a wide range of events, exhibitions, and editorial productions. Her collaborations span luxury fashion houses such as Dior and The Row, as well as renowned institutions including The Brooklyn Museum, The Isamu Noguchi Museum, and The Guggenheim Museum. She has also partnered with globally recognized brands like Chanel, Prada, and Carolina Herrera, bringing her refined, art-driven floral language into diverse creative spheres.
The studio is also intensely committed to sustainability, incorporating environmentally conscious business practices and eco-friendly materials into its ongoing operations.
Working With Top Fashion Brands
Before moving to the US, she went to Paris once again and spent about a year creating a portfolio that would best express her creativity. In addition to gaining experience working with top fashion houses such as Chanel and Hermès, she also worked energetically, collaborating with photographers to capture work that thoroughly reflected her own style. In 2016, she finally made the move to New York and contacted companies she wanted to work with.
She says:
"I had almost no connections, but the great thing about this city is that it was open to florists who had just arrived. Within a month, I was in charge of planting plants at The Row's show during Fashion Week."
Coincidentally, the theme was 'Isamu Noguchi', the artist she most admires. She admires how he blends modernity with Japanese sensibility. He has Japanese roots and was active in America, and although it may be presumptuous, she wanted to use him as a role model for herself.
The spirituality and minimalism that permeate Noguchi's work may also be shared by her floral expression. Her asymmetrical arrangements, with the white space between the flowers highlighted, can be seen as sculptural.
Eriko:
"I like fleeting things. Flowers will die someday, but I want to preserve that moment."
Ikebana-Esque Designs
The current trend is to arrange flowers in a way that minimizes them instead of adding extravagant flowers. In the tradition of Japanese Ikebana, Eriko's work may not be considered minimalist, but here it is often described as Ikebana-esque.
She uses seasonal flowers whenever possible, and recently has been working to minimize waste as much as possible in consideration of the environment. Her rich sense of the four seasons and her delicate sensibility and reverence for nature are advantages, especially overseas, and it seems that she will have more opportunities to shine.
Photos by: @erindesign_eriko.
