Titled ‘Squash’, Faye Toogood’s recent collaboration with Poltrona Frau has resulted in a sensorial furniture collection that blend’s the designer’s sculptural aesthetic with the heritage and expertise of the Italian design house.
Words by Roddy Clarke
Known for her sculptural approach to design, Faye Toogood has worked across a variety of mediums and her creations have garnered appreciation from design lovers all over the world. Her latest project, in partnership with Italian manufacturers Poltrona Frau, is a furniture collection that sees the British designer moving away from the hard furniture she has previously conceived and into designs that exude a softer and more sensorial aesthetic. Titled Squash, the collection consists of an armchair, ottoman, side table, mirror and rug and forms part of Poltrona Frau’s 2024 Imagine collection.
With this being the first collaboration between both outfits, Toogood says she wanted to bring a sensual perspective to the Italian brand’s unparalleled craftsmanship. “I have grown to express myself as a woman in design and so I set out to design a collection that was sculptural but also soft,” she says. “The chair looks as comfortable as it feels – it embraces you and there is nothing rigid about it.” With the collection’s organic beauty a welcome contradiction to the hard exterior of the world around us, she also explains how the home is a place of retreat and, with an increasing need for comfort and sanctuary, the collection contributes towards that.
The collaboration came about after Toogood visited the Tolentino-based factory and viewed the archives from the company’s 112-year heritage. “I was immediately drawn to their pieces from the 1970s with bold, surprising forms that felt daring yet timeless,” she explains. “I also discovered how Poltrona Frau crafts the leather interiors for Ferrari, and their obsessive attention to detail is evident in everything they do.” With one piece in particular catching her eye – the brand’s iconic Vanity Fair chair from the 1930s – Toogood felt compelled to pay homage to the vibrant archival colours, especially the lipstick red of the chair, while introducing a contemporary shape of her own to match their boldness. “That’s how the Squash chair was born – the heroine of the collection.”
Drawing on the wealth of knowledge embedded within Poltrona Frau, Toogood goes on to say how it was a privilege to work alongside them in bringing her own ideas to life. “The collaboration was not only a meeting of craftsmanship and design but also of culture and histories,” she comments. “I wanted to weave my own heritage into the collaboration, so you’ll notice subtle nods to English Folk Art throughout the collection. For example, the rugs feature chessboard patterns, a direct reference to traditional English patchwork chairs and the idea to create leather mirrors came from my personal response to early English leather folk work.” With this fusion of creativity seamlessly coming together, Toogood also says how, as the partnership developed, correlations became apparent between the work of Poltrona Frau and images of early English folk pieces. “We began noticing shared forms and shapes that appeared both in their Italian archive and in English folk history. It was a lovely reminder that furniture design is tactile and alive and can connect us through history.”
Harnessing the expertise and leather craft of Poltrona Frau, the collection is set to expand in the future with Toogood’s playful aesthetic pushing the boundaries of how they traditionally approach design. “I named the collection Squash because I wanted to achieve that ‘squashy’ feel,” Toogood continues. “The leather isn’t perfectly stretched, and the wrinkles give you the feeling you can sink into it.” With the Squash rugs mimicking the brushstrokes seen in hand painting, thanks to a deep pile and detailed thread placement, it alludes to Toogood’s artistry and how she models and sketches each design at the beginning of the process. The collection also perfectly encapsulates the designer’s multidisciplinary talents and, as showcased in its materiality, colours and organic silhouettes, she once again presents a body of work that transcends time, set to remain iconic for generations to come – all while reminding us that furniture can be playful and avant-garde while exuding a superior quality and comfort.
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