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Jeff Leatham: Hollywood and Bollywood’s go-to floral designer talks weddings and events
Gulf News
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2/17/2025
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00:00
Hey everybody, I am Jeff Latham.
00:07
So that is who I am, but most of you know me as The Flower God.
00:12
And I am here to dish some flower tea with you.
00:17
And you are allowed to ask me any question you like.
00:20
Right.
00:21
And I will answer as honest as I can.
00:23
That's perfect.
00:24
This is Dubai and the truth matters.
00:26
I love the flower installation there.
00:28
It's almost like poetry in motion.
00:30
How did you decide on these colors?
00:33
Why different shades of pink, red?
00:37
So it's shades of orange, hot pink, purples.
00:40
I love flowers that have bright colors and passion.
00:45
I haven't visited Dubai in quite some time.
00:49
But the first night I arrived here, I kind of drove around and I felt like on the street
00:54
there's so much color inside of people's personalities in the life.
00:58
And I feel like the city has a lot of beige and tans and we need more color in the city.
01:03
Right.
01:04
I think that people need to be more daring with color.
01:07
I want people to walk into this hotel, this beautiful Four Seasons Hotel and think like
01:11
excitement and wow, this is amazing.
01:14
So I really always want to create something that makes people stop and go wow and want
01:20
to look to see what else is happening.
01:22
Brilliant.
01:23
Jeff, these days AI has threatened our jobs.
01:26
When it comes to a florist, do you guys think you're insulated from AI?
01:30
I think AI is important to let people dream, but I feel like AI, we have to be careful
01:38
with it.
01:39
I just had this conversation with a friend yesterday.
01:42
Some people that have events, they're bringing photographs of AI of like this ceremony and
01:46
this and it's just impossible to create that.
01:49
The photo looks amazing.
01:52
And so you really have to be careful.
01:53
I'm kind of an old school guy.
01:55
I'm an old Hollywood type of guy.
01:57
I'm most importantly realistic on what I can create and the experience that I can give
02:03
someone.
02:04
So I think people have to be realistic with the experience and AI, the experience is fake.
02:10
As beautiful as it is, we don't be faking all that.
02:13
Right.
02:14
We need it for our future for certain things, but for design and art, I don't think there's
02:19
room for it.
02:20
Right.
02:21
It could be perfect.
02:22
Seriously.
02:23
And do you think flowers are still...
02:25
You know, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Monet with AI.
02:29
I mean, come on, are you guys serious?
02:31
And I miss the days when there were no cell phones.
02:36
How cute was it when you used to date someone, meet someone out?
02:39
Yeah.
02:40
You can't ghost anybody.
02:41
Play a game on like a matchbook or be like, Hey, I don't know.
02:43
It's just like, I love the future and I feel like Dubai is the future.
02:47
But I also miss the past.
02:49
There's a certain romanticism about the past that I miss.
02:53
Do all the stars love you equally?
02:55
I know he's worked with the Ambani's, he's worked with Kim K, he's worked with Paris
02:59
Hilton, Oprah.
03:00
Is there anybody you haven't...
03:02
Who has been one star that you're dying to work with, but just hasn't happened yet?
03:08
To be perfectly honest, one star that I'm dying to work with, but I haven't yet.
03:14
Someone that I probably...
03:15
I love...
03:16
I know we spoke before.
03:17
I love Meryl Streep.
03:19
Yes.
03:20
A star that I would have liked to have been close with who has passed would probably be
03:24
Elizabeth Taylor.
03:26
I would have loved to be her go-to florist because she had such a sensibility for luxury,
03:33
such a sensibility for beauty and helping people.
03:38
Because I'm a true believer, and we spoke before about Starcow.
03:41
I feel like people need to help people more now.
03:44
These days we're so caught up in fast fashion and fast fame that the idea of being famous
03:52
and being a celebrity in the past was to be about helping people, and you would give back.
03:57
I feel like people need to do that more.
04:00
Elizabeth Taylor would be my dream if I would, but my phone is full of amazing people.
04:06
I mean, should we call Cher right now?
04:08
Oh my God.
04:10
And Manish Malhotra is just coming in as well.
04:13
He's designed his outfit.
04:14
What's the deal?
04:15
Are you in a Bollywood movie soon?
04:16
What's the deal?
04:17
I mean, I would love to be.
04:18
What's the tea here?
04:19
This is Manish's outfit.
04:20
I truly believe this man, the reason why I love him is because he reminds me of myself.
04:25
He loves his art, but he also has a kind heart.
04:28
You need to tell me, was there a tough celebrity that you thought you had to convince them?
04:32
Not a tough one.
04:33
They all have strong likes and dislikes.
04:35
I would hate roses on my wedding.
04:37
I've never had to convince one of my celebrity clientele because they come to me out of trust
04:44
and as most importantly as a friend.
04:46
Oh, I see.
04:47
I see.
04:48
And brilliant.
04:49
And what's next for you?
04:51
What is next for me is the holidays soon.
04:54
And Christmas is my favorite time of the year because I do not use flowers.
04:58
I'm able to be a creative with my holiday decoration and with what I created in New
05:05
York and Philadelphia and Beverly Hills.
05:09
And I'm mostly in Paris.
05:11
I'm so lucky to have an office in Paris.
05:15
And just excited for whatever my next project is.
05:18
I'm one of those artists that just like my worst nightmare is repetition.
05:23
So I'm always having to re-embed this.
05:26
I'm like the Mel Madonna in that way.
05:28
In my industry, I don't look at social media like what other people are doing because you
05:34
get caught up in that world of like, what should I be doing, not what I have to do in
05:39
the future.
05:40
Right.
05:41
So I have to look to my future because not only for me, but for my staff.
05:44
And we have a big responsibility because we have helped change the way people look at
05:48
flowers in the world.
05:50
And we have to continue that.
05:51
There are many people who have now discarded flowers.
05:53
They said, get me books, get me an iPad instead.
05:57
What do you have to say to people who don't think flowers are the currency and move on?
06:01
Buy me a book.
06:02
I don't want flowers.
06:04
I'll take the book.
06:05
Okay, I'll take the book.
06:06
Give me the flowers.
06:07
Yeah, yeah, you do.
06:08
Other people give you flowers.
06:09
You want to give flowers because what flowers do is it creates an immediate memory in your
06:16
senses.
06:17
If someone sends you, even if it's a flower you don't like, the color is an automatic
06:22
register into your system.
06:24
They were pink, they were yellow, they were red, they were white.
06:27
You remember it.
06:28
You remember the day.
06:29
You remember what they were for.
06:30
Books can do that.
06:31
So if you want to create a memory, give flowers.
06:33
Brilliant.
06:34
On that note, thank you for giving me such a great memory.
06:37
Excellent.
06:38
Ciao.
06:39
Thank you so much.
06:40
Such a pleasure.
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