Fashion illustrators use real flower petals in their designs

Monday, May 19, 2014, 6:53 PM -

Forget about your grandmother's potpourri. Two young fashion illustrators have figured out a way to turn flower petals into haute couture!

Singapore-based fashion illustrator Grace Ciao, is garnering worldwide acclaim for her unconventional illustrations she posts on Instagram. 

In an interview with Buzzfeed, Ciao, 22, says her love for fashion began when she was a little girl, making dresses for her Barbies out of scraps given to her by her grandmother.

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The inspiration to use flower petals blossomed when she noticed a red rose a boy had given her was dying.

“I remembered how beautiful it used to be and wanted to ‘preserve’ this beauty. So I made fashion illustrations out of them,” she tells BuzzFeed.

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Ciao uses a variety of flowers in her designs, including roses, carnations, lilies, daisies and orchids.

"Find the potential in everything!" she captions one photo. 

And she's not the only one doing so.

Singapore-based artist Lim Zhi Wei is also wowing audiences with her watercolour designs featuring various flower petals.

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Born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, she moved to study in Singapore at the age of 16, where she would ultimately create the #instaartmovement on Instagram. 

Below, Wei beautifully depicts actress Lupita Nyong'o's 2014 Oscar ball gown.

Prints from her "Flowergirls" collection are now available for purchase.