One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Nowadays mudlarks, TOOGOOD scavenges in an old river close to London to collect debris and little objects that someone else thrown away.
The site still contains remnants dated back to the Roman Empire and other items buried for hundred score years such as coins, clay pipes, traces of the city’s first campfire, which the design duo gathered through fine-grade steel mesh filters and hung to interwoven hooks and grommets to embellish their minimalist clothing.
Abandoned yarns and threads were used to knot new designs, fine silk fabrics were crinkled and crushed to create thin grey weaves, reminiscent of the river’s surface, while too TOOGOOD’s pattern samples were turned into actual designs, as an essential interpretation of TOOGOOD’s traditional workers’ uniforms.
The brand’s attention to artisanal craftsmanship was showcased by visible stitchings, hand-quilted fabrics and artfully unfinished hems. Archeologs of the forgotten and collectors of washed uo memories, Erica and Faye Toogood reject the seasonal cycle of the fashion mainstream trends by creating timeless contemporary pieces that connect the past with present, cherishing those feelings and memories that lie half-buried in the sediment of our lives.
