Unencumbered by limits or boundaries, Faye Toogood has created a distinctive universe that effortlessly bridges design and fashion, reflecting the many facets of her boundless creativity. Free from constraints, Toogood skillfully balances her daring approach, amplifying it for experimental collections while adapting it for editions aimed at a wider audience. Toogood embodies the spirit of the January issue of Maison&Objet, which celebrates extraordinary encounters, avant-garde movements, and artistic worlds. Her work, blending fashion and design into a diverse and cohesive vision, serves as a rich source of inspiration for projects in both the residential and hospitality sectors. A trailblazer in her field, Toogood is an icon of female creativity and a passionate advocate for gender equality in the world of design, values that Maison&Objet promotes through the Women&Design initiative.
“Womanifesto: ceci n’est pas une chaise!”
Maison&Objet 2025 invites us to explore the theme "Sur/Reality," inspired by the centenary of the Surrealist Manifesto. Between fantasy and reality, the January edition unveils dreamlike installations and unexpected objects, encouraging us to rethink contemporary design and unlock creativity and imagination."Surreality is the human ability to take creativity beyond the usual boundaries. It’s a very creative theme!" says Toogood. "Concerning the pavilion project that I’m currently thinking about, I can tell you that the welcome into Surrealism will be very warm. I’m going to delve deeply into my eccentric side. Beyond the objects, I’m going to show a creative process."
Faye Toogood will present a playful and provocative installation at Maison&Objet 2025 - a labyrinth of images interwoven like a surreal puzzle. She explores what she calls her "walnut head," that fantastic world where shapes and colors merge, inviting us on a unique journey. The installation's four floating sections - DRAWING. MATERIAL. SCULPTURE. LANDSCAPE - reveal the foundations of Faye's dynamic and ever-changing studio, appearing as inflatable castles suspended in time.
“This is my womanifesto," says Faye Toogood. "Self portrait of the brain as an artist. Squishy. Surreal. Sensual. Sexual. Spontaneous. Turning the studio of my subconscious inside out.”
Faye Toogood: The Freedom to Create
For Faye Toogood, the worlds of fashion, sculpture, and interior design intertwine as fertile ground for her creativity to flourish. Growing up in the English countryside, she developed a profound connection with nature and a vivid imagination that fuels her constant experimentation. Her first collection, Assemblage 1, is a manifesto of this approach - a tribute to raw materials and English craftsmanship.The 2014 Roly-Poly seat introduced Faye Toogood's talent to the world. This iconic piece, combining organic shapes with a solid structure, marked the beginning of continuous experimentation. Her collections, often produced in limited editions, pay homage to craftsmanship and the exploration of innovative materials. Represented by prestigious galleries and present in important museums, Toogood has collaborated with the biggest names in design, from cc-tapis to Poltrona Frau, showcasing her ability to interpret different cultures and craft traditions. Her latest collection, Assemblage 8, delves into the potential of modular design, presenting furniture assembled like children's construction toys. Born in the quiet English countryside and immersed in nature, Faye Toogood formed deep connections with material. "My mother was a florist, and my father loved ornithology," says the designer. "We didn’t have television, so I read, drew and we got up early to watch the birds. Nature was our playground, I collected all sort of things and then spent time arranging them. This still influences my work in the way I use materials. My colour palette is inspired by those landscapes."
After studying art and art history, Faye Toogood entered the world of journalism and collaborated with World of Interiors magazine. "I organised photoshoots in houses all over the world. I saw a lot of objects and furniture from all periods, spanning several centuries. This gave me a very detailed knowledge of the history of design and styles. This experience gave me breadth and depth. Every month, we had to find a new concept and come up with an idea that could be realised with very little money. From that time, I still have the ability to make sets using simple, inexpensive materials. It’s easy to work with gold and marble, but it’s more interesting to make something good out of a tin can." However, her desire to create tangible objects, to escape the two-dimensionality of images, drove her to explore new avenues. "I wanted to create something more lasting, more tangible, in three dimensions," she says. This led her to experiment widely, from food to fashion to perfume, expressing her creativity in diverse forms.
Thus, her multidisciplinary practice was born. “Just as an artist can choose different media – photography, painting, video installation – I express myself through fashion, design and sculpture. It’s a toolbox from which I draw to communicate my creativity. A coat or a chair are just different ways of telling my story. I find it liberating to move from one practice to another. It’s my alphabet, my A to Z, my language.”
From research to Assemblage
“When I started out, I didn’t have any training in design, just art," explains Faye Toogood. "For my first collection, I was still taking the approach of an editor of materials and geometries. My aim was to bring together the past and the present, the masculine and the feminine, the rough and the smooth, the luxurious and the ordinary. That’s why the first and subsequent collections were called Assemblage." In recent years, Faye Toogood has also dedicated herself to creating unique pieces, a path that, although criticized for its exclusivity, is fundamental to her artistic research. "It's like haute couture," she says, "the ultimate expression of creative freedom. The Roly-Poly chair, for example, would never have been born without this experimentation."In recent years, Faye Toogood has focused on creating unique pieces - a path fundamental to her artistic research despite criticism for its exclusivity. "It's like haute couture," she says, "it’s the purest part of my artistic expression. The freest. It has an impact on everything I do. Roly-Poly would not have existed without this research. It’s a liberation. Are the pieces expensive? Yes."
"This chair is better known than I am. For two years, no one was interested. It was an alien. Some see in it the curves of Art Deco, others a primitive African style with elephant feet. It was so different from the marble and brass we were seeing at the time. Roly-Poly was a turning point for me. I’d just had my first child and everything became softer, rounder and bouncier. Before, I produced dark things, with angles, steel and welding. I find that when a piece of work is linked to real emotions, it hits home. It conveys an intuition and feelings that go far beyond aesthetics and form. If we design objects in this way, they take off. Roly-Poly is also a child’s approach to the world. Picasso said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist as you grow up.” I believe successful creatives have not lost that connection."
Freedom, Equality, Creativity! could be a motto for Faye Toogood, the British designer who has been able to redefine the boundaries of design, bringing craftsmanship and artistic expression to the forefront. Her eclectic journey, which has taken her from art to interiors, has culminated in a design vision that enhances everyday life. Faye Toogood will captivate the M&O 2025 public with an installation that reinterprets surrealism through her distinctive perspective, taking viewer on a journey that reveals not only the objects but also the processes that created them. An immersive experience will take us to the heart of her avant-garde world, in perfect harmony with the Sur/Reality theme.
