The history of the rose in fashion - a rosette explainer
Image Credit: Photo by Rachel Zegler, art by The Style HistorianTM.
When I think rosettes in fashion, I think Carrie Bradshaw popping out of her brownstone in the late 90s/early aughts to meet Mr. Big.
Image Credit: The Style Historian
Paige DeSorbo at the season 7 Summer Houses reunion, and the subsequent girl who literally dressed up as her in the same reunion fit when I first saw Giggly Squad live in 2023.
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And now, Rachel Zegler walking the red carpet for Snow White, in this delicious Carolina Herrera outfit styled by Sarah Slutsky Tooley.
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While heralded as the return of the Y2K trend for a few years now – we know it didn’t start then.
Where did it come from, and what influenced the roses we so often see in clothing, jewellery, accessories – sort’ve everywhere?
Let’s dive in.
The origins of the rose in fashion
In nature, roses have been around for 35 – 40 million years. Known for delicate, intricate petals with sharp thorns, the lore of the rose is actually one of resilience, underpinned by its ability to grow across diverse geographies despite unstable conditions.
When we look into the history of the significance of the rose, it was actually a flower associated with men. In ancient Roman times, men were given roses as rewards for acts of strength and virtue, and annual rose festivals were held.
And according to fashion historian Amy de le Haye, rose scented perfume were also worn by men, with women preferring stronger scents.
In fact, the rose we know today wasn’t gendered ‘female’ until the 19th century – with rosettes becoming increasingly associated with women’s fashion.
In Ravishing – The Rose in Fashion, senior curator at the Museum at F.I.T Colleen Hill, explains how it was advancements in technology within the 18th century that drove the use of flora – including roses – on textiles in Western Europe – especially found on silk.
Image Credit: Silk design from Lyon, from Lyon, France, 1735, The Museum at FIT, New York via Ravishing - The History of the Rose in Fashion.
Observing this increasing blend of naturalism in everyday life, scholar Francois Joyaux suggests, “by the end of the 18th century, the rose was not only in minds and in gardens: it was everywhere, in home décor, the ornamentation of furniture, and the adornment of women.”
(It’s worth mentioning men that during the 18th century, aristocratic men wore rose motifs – the more elaborate their fabric, the more status one held at court.)
When speaking about this influence of rosettes in 18th and 19th century women’s fashion, historian Summer Anne Lee told Refinery29,
“[Rosettes] symbolize femininity, love and beauty. They're associated with this youthful prime of your life. They're also so ephemeral, like all flowers. Having an artificial flower that never dies is something that's very precious to people.”
Designer Sarah Burton, who took over for the rose obsessed Alexander McQueen when he passed away in 2010, once explained:
“We’ve referenced the rose in many collections at Alexander McQueen. For me, it’s the most British flower of all, a symbol of femininity... I love the fragility and also the splendour of it... the idea that it represents birth and rebirth and the whole life cycle... The fact that it has beauty as a bud, and a beauty through its decay... it has a strength and power... It almost represents a woman, to me.”
What inspired rosettes meteoric rise as we see them today?
Most online think pieces will tell you it’s Carrie Bradshaw – and fashion historian Ms. Lee agrees, explaining how Carrie Bradshaw and HBO series Sex and the City is responsible for the driving force behind rosettes in modern fashion.
“There's so many references or connections [to rosettes] being made with Sex and the City and Carrie Bradshaw being a fashion icon. That's something [to note] in this visual rolodex of early 2000s fashion,”
Image Credit: Sarah Jessica Parker at the Season 3 premiere of Sex and the City, 2000.
And while we need to give credit where credit is due – and there’s no denying the influence of Sex and the City on 2000s fashion – let’s talk about the designers who used rosettes, and pushed them into the forefront of fashion.
The rose motif and rosette timeline
Image Credit: Charles Frederick Worth, Evening dress, c. 1882, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY, USA. The Rose Book, 2025 Phaidon | Elsa Schiaparelli, Victoria Albert Museum | Alexander McQueen, The Ravishing Rose, Amy de la Hayes | Christian Dior, Roux and Müller, Christian Dior.
Charles Frederick Worth, the father of couture, was known for using rose motifs. Worth was instrumental in setting the template for today’s fashion industry.
Elsa Schiaparelli, seeking escapism from the 1930s Depression, created the ‘Deux visage’ evening coat, portraying a trompe l'oeil vase full of roses.
Christian Dior, known for his post-WWII era New Look, a silhouette inspired by a flower and its petals – plays with the proportions of a tucked waist and flowy, flower-like skirts.
He explained, “We were emerging from the period of war, of uniforms, of women-soldiers built like boxers. I drew women-flowers, soft shoulders, fine waists like liana and wide skirts like corolla.”
Alexander McQueen, the most infamous use of rose as muse, who often spoke about how nature was intertwined with his work. He has multiple collections re-imagining the rose.
One the most infamous is his 2007 Sarabande collection of 2007, which featured dresses cascading with flowers.
There are many more designers than the four listed here – Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Mugler, Valentino and more are all also credited with finding inspiration from the rose, but these four are the most infamous.
And while historians agree there wasn’t much evolution of the rosettes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
But paired with the influence of Carrie Bradshaw, the rosette saw its high-fashion return in 2003 via Yves Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer show – with the fresh motif found on low cut blouses, dresses and miniskirts.
And when Marc Jacob was artistic director at Louis Vuitton in the 2000s, he asked artist Stephen Sprouse to design a rose graffiti graphic for Louis Vuitton.
The evolution of the rose in fashion – a deeper meaning
By and large, online sentiment about the rose is divided into two camps – in one, its an ethereal, pretty, feminine motif. The second – the rose over time has evolved into an act of resistance.
The first documented use of resistance is with the anti-Nazi group, The White Rose, active in Munich, Germany from 1942-1943, to more recently the #MeToo Movement in 2018, and for some women post-mastectomy from breast cancer, rose tattoos help reclaim their bodies and celebrate their resiliency.
There are many examples of the rose acting as a symbol of resilience.
And today, the rose no longer lives by the polarizing confines of two genders.
But instead, we see rose as a motif for everyone. More and more, we’re seeing rosettes especially as a gender-neutral accessory, often featured in elevated menswear looks.
A recent collection that jumps to mind is Dries Van Noten Fall/Winter 2025 menswear, Julian Klausner’s first collection from the house.
There’s no denying the influence of the rose in fashion – it’s everywhere.
And when I first started researching, I was blown away by the sheer volume of information on the rose.
From an award of virtue for men, a court status marker, an HBO calling card, to a gender-free accessory, the rose’s significance on fashion and culture outlasts the algorithmic micro trends blowing up our timelines.
The rose, like anything, is up for subjective symbolism.
That symbolism appears to be rich and beautiful, deep yet soft.
The rose can say so much without saying anything.
And isn’t that so often what makes the greatest art of all?
Until next time,
- TSH xxx
As always, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the fashion historians whose excellent research helped guide this deep dive. I have listed my (many!) sources below – if you’re curious for more, I encourage you to read the essay and book by Amy de la Haye, in addition to the many articles below.
The Style Historian is a lifelong thrifter and style enthusiast passionate about the stories behind the fashion, trends and styles we see today. She covers these histories on her weekly blog, The Style Historian, and on her Instagram @thestylehistorian_. In 2022, she founded her online vintage shop, Good Find Studio, in an effort to minimize her closet and live more sustainably. When not reading about fashion, she can be found helping her friends and family find the perfect outfits, thrifting or watching Bravo.
Sources: Irish Independent, Refinery29, Essay: Roses as Resistance, Elle, Bustle, Ravishing – The Rose in Fashion by Amy de la Haye, Yale University Press, 2020. Vogue UK, Vogue USA, Daily Art Magazine, Victoria Albert Museum, Marie Claire