Unit X - Research Context - Studio Toogood

Agender promo material showcasing abstract sculptures 

My research into 'the pop-up'  has pointed me in the direction of many artists and designers who utilise the element of 'pop-up' to cause a stir, or get the sudden attention of the public. My attention fell on one pop-up experiment taking place in Slefridge's in London at the moment; a pop-up fashion store, 'Agender' are sending art and fashion enthusiasts everywhere a bit bonkers, and the studio who developed the aesthetic and installed the interiors are masters of shock within fashion and textile trending. Studio Toogood is directed by London based designer Faye Toogood, and specialise in high concept interiors for creative projects and companies through out the creative world. Their involvement with unisex clothing experiment 'Agender' is visceral and superbly done. Inside the store sit voluptuous, abstract sculptures reminiscent of flesh and human reproductive organs.

Pop-up store, Selfridges, London

“In order to move forward I felt like I needed to look back,” says Toogood. “We are all flesh and bone. I wanted to find a primal palette of materials that explores our individual needs and desires despite our gender or sexuality. On the first floor there is pink latex and rubber like flesh, and on the second floor there are bones - tar; mud; horse hair and concrete.”

I love this approach to homogenise the human body, and move it away from male and female into an abstract mess of 'human-beingness'. The organic shapes are inspirational and I love the tones of pink and purple matched with yellow ochres to 'degender' previous conceptions of colour and sex. High concept interiors for fashion/textile promotion is a possible context which our pop-up could fit into. 

Fashion installation by Studio Toogood