View Toga's fall 2022 collection now:
When describing Yasuko Furuta’s work at Toga, it’s easy to end up speaking in contradictions. The clothes are somehow playful but studied, refined but witty, wildly eclectic yet firmly cohesive. “Hoops, bouncing, swinging,” came the typically gnomic quote from Furuta this season, placing an emphasis on fun and immediacy.
As always, though, it was Furuta’s imaginative hybridized garments that charmed most. There were plenty of delightfully Frankensteinian fusions at play here: the front fascia of a camel-colored blazer sliced at the sides, so that the sleeves of a thick wool knit emerged from underneath; or in something of a direct reverse, a slinky knit dress with the hems of a blazer peeping out underneath.
While this season’s accompanying film, directed by the auteur fashion photographer Johnny Dufort, effectively conveyed the off-kilter spirit of Furuta’s distinctive design philosophy, her clothes really benefit from being seen in a showroom setting. Going through her pieces on the rack, the quality and heft of the clothes is seriously impressive, as are the wealth of playful details that reveal themselves the closer you look.