Coming up in the next few months, the World Cup Floral Art—also called Florint World Championship Floral Art—unites floral artists from around the globe in a design contest. It presents a platform where tradition meets audacious innovation in flower design while pushing the limits of floristry; showcasing innovation and inspiring future trends. This year's edition of the championships—as noted many times by now—takes place in The Hague, Netherlands, from August 28 to 31, 2025, and presents a podium for flaunting avant-garde floral art talent.
Among the elite competitors taking part in the World Cup Floral Art 2025 is Frédéric Dupré, a French floral design virtuoso possessing an eventful history in different fields, including competitions, and whose career with flowers challenges linear categorization. Dupré—who admits he doesn’t quite love talking about himself—embodies what you’d call a career paradox (and reinvention). He is a paleontology dropout-turned-horticultural savant and a floristry champion-turned-mentor. Quite so much to know about him. Don't you think so?
Frédéric Dupré’s Journey in Floral Design, From Ancient Earth to Floral Art
Dupré’s career spans more than two decades and interweaves landscaping knowledge, horticultural expertise, floral design pedagogy, and pursuit of floral aesthetic and its evolution. His path to becoming a renowned floral designer was anything but conventional. More like a botany-inspired Bildungsroman, his story tells of a journey—from digging up fossilized fragments to working with flowers in the floral segment—that reveals a man who, now, treats plants and flowers—in designs—not just as simplistic materials but, rather, as animate accessories in a piece of work with nature.
He started his career in plants in 1998, but before that, he was studying paleontology, a discipline that seemed worlds away from that of flowers. This field borders between biology and geology. It is the scientific study of life in the geologic past that involves the analysis of plant and animal fossils. Yet, while studying this subject, practical realities—financial strain and daunting odds as only 1% of students achieve lasting careers—forced a change in his mind career-wise.
For him, what seemed like a compromise was quite a revisit of his actual calling. With two grandfathers and a great-grandfather who were gardeners, plants were his legacy. He pursued landscape design and then horticulture, treating each discipline as an equally important aspect of his career. For instance, landscaping, he says, taught him to see plants as architects. They have their own logic—heights, textures, rhythms, and his role was to listen, not impose.
Frédéric Dupré:
“So I followed the family line by moving towards landscaping. I obtained a diploma in landscape design and since I was eager to continue exploring other professions around plants, I turned to horticulture, where I also obtained my diplomas. Finally, during this process, I discovered the profession of floristry because, in the school where I learned my previous professions, the establishment also offered floristry training.
I decided to go into flowers to complete my studies, and there, it was like a revelation! After two months my teacher was already registering me for competitions. After my exams, I continued these competitions and won many of them. Then after obtaining my florist exams, I quickly taught young people, then working professionals and experienced florists.”
Floristry, as it turns out, entered his life quite as an afterthought, a supplementary course in his horticulture program. But, the results were immediate: honors piled up, and by the time he earned his floristry credentials, he was already fully mentoring peers.
He, as a result, has been a trainer for twenty years now, and since 2015 has been passing on his knowledge and philosophy abroad. During this career period, he has had two flower shops that he sold in 2017 to dedicate himself primarily to education and its transmission, which, he says, are very important to him.
Frédéric Dupré:
“I often say that I am only passing through this profession, and my mission is to share, to pass on my knowledge to as many people as possible. To make them grow, blossom, and become passionate like I am. Despite everything, I married the flower twenty-three years ago but my soul will forever remain a gardener.”
Inspiration From the World Around Us
When asked to describe his style, Dupré admits to finding it a bit difficult to put an exact finger on it. He describes himself as insatiably curious, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources. His designs, therefore, resist easy classification. They are neither purely architectural nor entirely wild, but rather a negotiation between ‘control and surrender’. This tension, likely, springs from his twofold training: the landscaper’s eye for structure and the horticulturist’s reverence for organic growth.
He, accordingly, developed a hierarchical taxonomy of floral styles, a framework he uses to teach students, for example, how classical Ikebana principles might converse with Dutch Baroque excess. For him, styles are languages. And, to master them, one needs fluency in their history. His methodology, also, involves observing, scanning, and recording the world around him, from botany and art history to cuisine, architecture, and even everyday experiences such as when shopping at the supermarket.
Frédéric Dupré:
“I observe, I scan and record, then I store in my mind. When I need an idea, things come to me quite quickly! I have not always had this facility, it is an exercise that I have worked on daily for years, the mind is like a muscle that we maintain by doing sports. I often compare memory to a sponge: if you do not wet it regularly, the sponge ends up drying. But, on the contrary, if you give it water regularly it will swell and when you need water you just have to squeeze the sponge a little and the water will flow! For ideas, it is the same process!”
His background in landscaping and horticulture has, also, provided him with a solid foundation in the principles of design, proportion, and the harmonious arrangement of plants. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the relationship between creative ideas and the natural world; and especially the appreciation of the different styles and expressions of floral art whenever he works on a design.
Dupré has, also, developed his own theory on the hierarchical classification of floral styles and expressions, which he uses to help his students understand the links and evolution between each style. This is thanks to his professional career through which he understood the importance of the positioning of plants and the marriage between a creative idea and nature. His theory, likewise, reflects his deep understanding of the history and development of floral design.
And, also, while architecture plays a role in his work, particularly in the geometric aspects of design, Dupré emphasizes that his style is an all-inclusive blend of elements, including harmony, balance, texture, color, and botanical choices, which all play a role in arriving at and defining an aesthetic work.
What is more, he emphasizes that his cultural origins no longer play a role in his creations, and on the contrary, he has evolved to distance himself from them because his work at one time was too Franco-French.
Frédéric Dupré:
“It is all thanks to my professional travels. The exchanges with my international friends and colleagues, my students and their different cultures, everything that I can observe in the four corners of the world. All this has allowed me to create a melting pot of ideas to refine my style, I believe! This richness has opened my eyes and influenced the exaggeration of my creative process. Creativity has forced me to think intellectually to find techniques and solutions to satisfy the result of my ideas. I believe that to succeed in this profession, you must always question yourself, and keep your eyes open.”
Thus, collaborations with international peers, for instance, from Tokyo’s minimalist masters to Mexico’s color radicals, expanded his palette. Furthermore, his travels taught him that context changes everything. That would explain why his artistic floral pieces oscillate between cultural reverence and bold hybridity.
Even more, it's that his creative process is gloriously anarchic. His mind; likened to a muscle, strengthened through daily ‘exercises’ of observation and cross-disciplinary curiosity, and his methods, birthing designs that blend different disciplines; like a touch of Japanese wabi-sabi imperfection with the opulence of French court arrangements—a style that could be deemed a 'cauldron of controlled chaos'.
A Return to the World Stage in Floral Design and Artistry
Frédéric has already participated in and won many competitions. One title he is particularly proud of is 'Meilleur Ouvrier' ('Best Worker') in France, a highly esteemed recognition in the floral industry.
Having already previously participated in a World Cup in 2015 in Berlin, and his continued taking part in other international competitions, Dupré’s return to the World Cup stage after a decade-long hiatus is less a comeback than a coronation of all that he has perfected during his career in that duration. In the upcoming 2025 floral event, he arrives as the leader of a youth-driven collective which he works with.
Frédéric Dupré:
“Last year, the French Federation of Artisan Florists offered me the opportunity to apply. My initial response was indeed negative. I preferred to get involved in coaching the future candidate and train him as I regularly do with other French or international designers. Then several French and foreign colleagues urged me to sign up. I ended up accepting, not for myself, but for the future generations of my country.
I have the difficult mission of showing them the example, the path, the mistakes not to make... That is why I surrounded myself with young enthusiasts in my team because I have the fervent hope and conviction that they will be the next French representatives. I see this World Cup more as a process of transmission, teamwork, sharing, and the pleasure of challenging oneself. These are in any case the reasons that pushed me to accept.”
For that reason, Dupré’s team, a cadre of mostly young emerging florists, reflects his belief that growth requires preparation and collaboration. Although Frédéric is the name on the score sheet, he does not see his role as being the leader or the captain of the team, perhaps more a curator who is steering without stifling.
Frédéric:
"I am not a captain, I am more the initiator of the idea and we discuss with my team to see how far we can push this idea. We argue, we try the possibilities and anticipate the problems. We listen to each other but I remain the decision maker despite everything. Everyone in this team of four people is on an equal footing
I have been making sketches for several months, and I discuss them with my team, to find a compromise between me and the subjects. I do not take care of what has been done before because I find that it is copied. I am more in the process of inventing and revealing myself through my creations."
And, in all these, Dupré applauds growers Decorum and Marginpar who are key sponsors of this event, acknowledging their ‘botanical democracy.’ For him, the two growers are important brands in the floristry sector. For the botanical diversity like the long-stemmed flowers and plants at Decorum, including orchids, calla lilies, Chrysanthemums, and others, all of which come in a real range of colors and textures, and the complete collection of flowers from Marginpar, including the entire assortment of Clematis, Gloriosa, Craspedia, Scabiosa, and others, he notes that all these coordinate perfectly with current trends such as garden style, wild style, country, romantic, or airy.
The 2025 World Cup of Florists and His Future Prospects
For Dupré, the upcoming World Cup of Florists is an unmissable event for those passionate about this profession. It is an event that allows everyone to benefit from innovations and tomorrow's trends. It presents a space for excellence and even inspiration for commercial work. Each idea presented, he says, can be commercially readapted.
Frédéric Dupré:
“It is also a meeting between colleagues and friends. There is certainly the challenge but it is also a great human adventure. For my part, I do not ask myself any questions about the impact that this competition will have on my career. I believe it is already well established and I just want to show once again my style, my vision, and my way of working with flowers. I will certainly go through all the phases of stress and doubts during the preparation and the competition but, I do not want to preoccupy my mind with things that we do not control. I prefer to concentrate on my work and give the best of myself and thus make the public and the jury dream, I hope!”
And, when pressed about his future, Dupré demurs. “I cannot answer this question, because I am a florist, not a medium.” Yet, his hopes are perceptible. He hopes that the future will offer him many more years in the profession, to pass it on to all those who wish. He, also, hopes that the floral artistry will continue to transport him into an inexhaustible ingenuity. As for his dreams, he says there are many. But, he wouldn’t reveal any of them for fear that they would not come true! The French florist, also, has advice for young people, which he, however, reserves for his training courses.
He, nonetheless, gives them a philosophy and a method when they start:
"This profession must be practiced with passion! Passion is like falling in love with someone, having butterflies in your stomach and head. Not so when you work with flowers? If you want to learn this profession, be patient, do not go too fast, and climb the steps one by one. Because, when you show up too quickly, often you fall and the fall is painful. I often say that we work with plants, so watch their silent evolution: for example, in a tree, once the seed is sown, it will take years to be beautiful, and the more the years pass, the more sumptuous, magnificent, and extraordinary it will be.”
Too often, he adds, young people want to create right away and this is never the right approach, because one must first learn the theories of floristry, understand it, and practice it. All these, he often explains by giving the example of a musician: before he writes a symphony, he already learns all the music theories by heart and practices hundreds of times so that his mind and his gestures become automatisms, and once accomplished, he can then create. And, with flowers and floristry, it is the same thing. When one has understood all the theories, then they can practice to tame the techniques.
After all this journey, he adds, one can then develop, invent, and have fun. But one should never forget to keep an open eye and mind, to always question oneself because nothing is ever acquired, and above all to respect the flower and its poetry. In this, Dupré, therefore implores beginners and apprentices against premature innovation, asking them to first master floristry’s ‘music theory’ of color harmonies, proportional balance, seasonal palette, and other relevant elements.
And, as the 2025 Floral World Cup approaches, he confronts the attention with characteristic equipoise. His goal: not so much a victory, but a resonance. Because he believes this event is more of a platform for showcasing innovation, identifying future trends, and providing inspiration for future applications.
All images are of floral designs and installations by Frédéric Dupré (fredericdupreflorist).
