From Nikki Giovanni to Sophia Loren, Toast’s design director Laura Shippey looked to a range of inspiring woman in the arts for the label’s latest High Summer collection. ‘We chose to celebrate women who were not afraid to express their individuality,’ Shippey explains. ‘This expression is present in the vibrancy of colour and the use of bold silhouettes in the collection. We wanted it to have a boundless open spirit.’
From curving A-line dresses to wide cropped trousers, this uninhibitedness is evoked in the collection’s voluminous silhouettes. Launched in May, they mark the most exaggerated shapes in a series of micro collections released each month.
Each launch traces a journey through the seasons of the year. Take January’s designs – inspired by wild landscapes, and visualised in muted mulberry and stone – which seamlessly evolved into the inky printed and relaxed bohemian shapes launched in March. ‘Each drop has a new story, but it builds on what has gone before,’ says Shippey.
For High Summer, the wild clouds of January have cleared. Inspired by clear skies and fresh winds, the collection is imagined in red, white and blue. While Toast has slowly relocated from West Wales to London over the past 24 months, for summer the studio looked further afield.
Madras checks and Indian ikats feature on elegant dresses with crossed straps and relaxed drawstring skirts. ‘We are great supporters of artisan techniques,’ Shippey says. Tactile and utlity focused fabrications are an essential element of the brand. ‘Ikat fabrics require a lot of patience and skill to create. They are defined by a haziness. It is this beauty of imperfection which we love.’
Preoccupied with fabrications, the collection features Madras checks and hazy ikats
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Toast website
-
New York's members-only boom shows no sign of stopping — and it's about to get even more nicheFrom bathing clubs to listening bars, gatekeeping is back in a big way. Here's what's driving the wave of exclusivity
-
The diverse world of Belgian embassy design – 'style and class without exaggeration''Building for Belgium: Belgian Embassies in a Globalising World' offers a deep dive into the architecture representing the country across the globe – bringing context to diplomatic architecture
-
Pull up a bespoke pew at Milan’s new luxury perfumery Satinine, an homage to the city’s entrywaysDesigner Mara Bragagnolo fuses art deco details to bring storied Milanese fragrance brand Satinine into the 21st century
