INSPIRED by the idea of not prioritising productivity in a world that does, designer and founder of Toga, Yasuko Furuta,  showcased the SS20 collection at London Fashion Week yesterday. Instead of focusing on how to make fashion productive, Furuta desired to pinpoint the unnecessary aspect of fashion as a process of indulgence. With the performance by artist Francis Alÿs’s performance entitled Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing in mind, Furuta redeveloped and redefined the use of efficiency in fashion.
Furuta’s pieces question the essence of functionality and practicality themselves – vinyl netting is wrapped around a suit, beach wear is blended with urban style, foam sandals feature black shoelace-like ties, while jumpers and silver coats feature intentional gaps and holes. Blazers and knits featured oversized floral brooches, while flared trousers triangular cut-outs with contrasting patterns.
Set against a soundtrack of psychedelic and electronic beats, the careful tailoring and unconventional shapes created by Furuta pushed the audience to think about the construction of the garments themselves as a process of constant building and nuanced layering.
by Mirabella Shahidullah