Meet Steve Salter, the second green-fingered father to feature in our Father’s Day series. As Fashion Features Editor of i-D magazine, it’s safe to say Steve knows a thing or two about style, as does his wife Susie Lau – one of fashion’s most respected voices – and his daughter Nico, who’s arguably the best dressed baby girl we’ve had the pleasure to meet. Steve tells us he’s a flower man. From Raf Simons’ ability to weave flowers (of New Order and Fantin-Latour fame) into his designs, to his favourite stems – we popped over to the Salter-Lau household to talk all things floral...
Are you more of a plant or a flower man?
A flower man. I tend to kill plants if they’re too needy. I guess I have a commitment problem...
Which plants and flowers would we find in your home?
Palms, grasses and agapanthus at home because they’re low maintenance. I try and keep it seasonal when it comes flowers.
What do you associate with the colour green?
Growth, life, renewal, peace.
Are there any plants that remind you of a particular place or moment in your life?
Waratahs remind me of a blissful hike in Blue Mountains and Joshua trees take me back to my happy place.
What’s your most-loved scent?
Nico. She offers an ever changing bouquet of scents, from the sublime to the putrid.
What’s your favourite flower and why?
Bird of paradise because they make even the most mundane spaces magical. They just don’t look real. They’re like an origami crane.
What about any flower or plant-related artwork or fashion pieces, are there any you’re particularly dawn to and why?
Dries Van Noten knows how to integrate flowers into fashion but my favourite current item is a Raf Simons shirt that’s emblazoned with the artwork from New Order’s Power Corruption & Lies album. It’s a still life arrangement painted by Fantin-Latour.
![Bird Paradise New Order 2](https://floom.imgix.net/general/bird-paradise-new-order-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=1d3aefebdd8e916bc609cb615cd14ea3 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/bird-paradise-new-order-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=584f20df36acf208c785dc2ddfd8a947 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/bird-paradise-new-order-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=d4cae1e4c6c602577b9073237709a6f2 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/bird-paradise-new-order-2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=5d868bf821f3a1312851ff1caec4eb71 400w)
![Steve Nico 1](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=ba30d7968405da2ddf665cff1ec1c3a1 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=cecc67578dcbbac4173cc48d6705e2ef 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=3a7b265ddcf71fb65d904a7c32063ae5 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=6c5ccf2e44013cdeb9bf5150556ca36e 400w)
How does receiving flowers make you feel?
Loved.
Why do you think it’s cool to receive flowers?
For me, they’re the ideal gift because they brighten up your life for as long as you care for them and then they’re gone.
What’s your favourite green-hangout in London?
Hampstead Heath for the vastness, Phoenix Gardens for the intimacy.
![Steve Nico 2](https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-2_180612_175255.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=ae18073f70db74b3c3ff9f2ef4f6a21e 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-2_180612_175255.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=990ef8f907af76d29ed9cee5588065ff 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-2_180612_175255.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=472c164b7466c7848423fbca032b8a01 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/general/Steve-nico-2_180612_175255.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=6129040510688f1e4268a17b705b5ee3 400w)