WORDS Jo Buitendach PHOTOS Andrea Ferrari; Supplied
The first in a new series focusing on the new wave of international designers, this inaugural story looks at the work of multidisciplinary British designer Faye Toogood.
Unsurprisingly, being constrained by a single discipline or way of working has never been good enough for Faye Toogood. She describes herself as an outsider, and her studio produces multi-genre work that encompasses interior design, homeware, fine art and fashion. Architects, sculptors, furniture makers and illustrators cross-pollinate on projects, creating designs that are rigorous and avant-garde, helping to make the landscape of life less ordinary.
Born in 1977, Faye grew up in rural England, and a consequent deep love of wild landscapes still inspires her today. After studying art history at the University of Bristol and working as interiors editor at The World of Interiors magazine, in 2008 she founded her London-based design studio, Toogood. Four years later, with her sister Erica , Faye established the fashion side of the business, with a focus on minimalistic forms and interesting cuts. The clothing is a melange of the sisters’ unmistakable spirit and expertise: Faye’s interest in materiality and Erica’s shape-making. Toogood fashion has more than 60 stockists worldwide, including Selfridges.
A great fan of collaboration, Faye has worked with Comme des Garçons, Birkenstock, Hermès and Mulberry. She’s also exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Triennale in Milan and National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
Furniture
Faye is known for minimal, sculptural furniture, and her most iconic work is the Roly Poly chair, with its four chunky legs and a dish-shaped seat. Launched in 2014 as part of the Assemblage 4 collection, the chairs were inspired by motherhood, made from fibreglass, and hand-cast in moulds by a small-scale British manufacturer. Initially, they were made in the colours Raw, Charcoal and Cream; later editions feature different solid materials and finishes.
In February 2024, Toogood x Vaarnii, a Finnish furniture and lighting design company, launched the Peace lounge chair at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. Cheekily compared to lollipop sticks due to their large pieces of rounded wood, these chairs aim to create a closer connection to nature and the landscape.
Most recently at Milan Design Week in mid-April, Faye launched two new collaborations – with CC-Tapis and Tacchini – in an exhibition titled “Rude Arts Club”.
Rude, Faye’s third collab with Italian rug company CC- Tapis, is a collection of sensual, sculptural rugs that bring together high craft and high jinks. Partly inspired by the work of British artist Francis Bacon, the rugs are corporeal, visceral and vivid in fleshy pinks, reds, orange and lilacs.
Cosmic collection – the collab with furniture brand Tacchini – centres around the Solar couch, which looks like a pile of squishy pillows. Faye invites you to “crash- land on these padded piles; to crunch and crinkle the glowing quilted lights; to run your hands over the table’s lacquered top and leather legs…” | fayetoogood.com | t-o-o-g-o-o-d.com
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