Bold contours and generous volumes are the signature marks of the Squash collection designed by Faye Toogood in collaboration with Poltrona Frau. In an interview with the brand the designer shares more about the collection which has been crafted for maximum comfort and quality.
Throughout your career, who has been the most influential creative figure for you?
'There have been many, but I always come back to British sculptor Barbara Hepworth. I was just 8 when I visited her studio in Cornwall and left determined to become a sculptor myself. Frank Gehry is another influential figure, known for his experimental and sculptural background, and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood for having the courage to follow her own convictions and for synchronising fashion, music, life, and art.'
When you were a child, what were your favourite toys, and do you think those early interactions with objects influenced your design sensibilities today?
'I didn't have a lot of toys. Growing up in the English countryside, my favourite objects were things I would pick up and collect—shells, stones, feathers, and sticks. I would spend hours arranging and displaying these in my room. This passion for arranging objects has stayed with me, as has my love of the British landscape, which inspires so much of my work.'
What is the one object that you absolutely cannot live without?
'My "Black Hole" waterproof rucksack from Patagonia. My umbrella from James Smith and Son's, London's famous umbrella shop. My Wassily Chair by designer Marcel Breuer.'
If you could own any art from a museum, which one would it be?
'Cy Twombly - 'Coronation of Sesostris Part V' (2000), Louise Bourgeois - Spider (Cell) (1997), MOMA.'
Imagine hosting a dinner party with three famous personalities, dead or alive. Who would you invite?
'Thom Yorke - Musician, Singer, Songwriter; Tilda Swinton - Actress; and Gaetano Pesce - Architect.'
Today, the debate focuses on artificial intelligence, with all its opportunities and risks. How do you feel about it, and if you could see the introduction of another new technology in the world, what would it be?
'I personally will choose to work even more in an analogue way. For sure, AI will soon be able to design a better Faye Toogood chair than I can, so it is my job to keep reinventing, experimenting, and embracing the unexpected. A very emotional, tactile, and human approach is going to be needed even more today. I am passionate about objects, things, and clothes that are made by hand—by creativity.'
If you could have designed any existing piece from the Poltrona Frau catalogue, which one would it be?
'When I visited the Poltrona Frau archive, I fell in love with the iconic Vanity Fair from the Thirties in lipstick red. It's not so much that I wished to design Vanity Fair, but I wanted the Squash chair to honour this archive colour and respond with a contemporary shape that met its boldness.'
This is your first collaboration with Poltrona Frau. What was the most surprising or insightful thing you discovered while working with the brand?
'I think it was the very first contact I had with Poltrona Frau—visiting their factory and being introduced to their archive. My favourite room in the factory was the testing room—so rigorous yet thorough and mechanical, like a super sports car factory. I was also incredibly inspired by the archive, which holds a very radical history of incredible chairs, many of which I had never seen before.'
More information:
Poltrona Frau
www.poltronafrau.com