Toast’s latest collections reflect a creative approach to sustainability, with CEO Suzie de Rohan Willner drawing inspiration from artists and architects who rethink material use. Her perspective embodies a core belief: design should transform rather than discard.
Artists Who Redefine Material
Anni Albers’ work remains a key reference for de Rohan Willner. The textile artist transformed craft into fine art by prioritizing material exploration over fixed visual outcomes. She asked what the material wanted to do before asking how it should look. This philosophy underpins Toast’s Toast Repair initiative, which repurposes damaged garments through visible mending techniques.
Ruth Asawa’s looped-wire sculptures demonstrate another contrast—industrial steel reshaped into delicate, organic forms. The interplay between strength and fragility reflects Toast’s balance of durability and creative expression. I love that tension between strength and lightness, forms that feel weightless yet are anything but fragile.
The architect Philip Johnson’s Glass House in Connecticut blurs the divide between interior and exterior spaces. Its full-height glass walls create a continuous conversation between interior life and the natural world outside, a reminder that the best design frames what already exists.
Isamu Noguchi’s versatility across stone, furniture, and paper lanterns serves as a model for interdisciplinary creativity. His refusal to limit himself to one medium mirrors Toast’s approach to repurposing materials across different collections.
De Rohan Willner’s stepfather, William Mitchell, was a concrete innovator whose brutalist style combined historical weight with modern boldness. His work in Wales, where Toast originated, continues to influence the brand. He researched a place’s historical resonance deeply, then answered it with a juxtaposed modernity that takes your breath away.
From Inspiration to Collection
Toast’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, A Shared Table, returned to Wales for a farmland gathering near Llansteffan Castle. Guests wrapped in Toast blankets experienced the connection between environment and community, a theme central to the collection’s design language.
The prior season’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection, A Lightness of Being, drew from themes of flight and experimentation. At Somerset House in London, dancers performed in the collection’s textiles, merging movement with textile art. The presentation demonstrated how clothing can function as an expressive medium.
Dutch textile artist Meta Struycken partnered on Toast’s first Toast Renewed By capsule, using returned and damaged Toast pieces to create eight full-size garments. Traditional methods like embroidery and quilting raised repair into an artistic process, extending product lifecycles while honoring craft traditions.
The forthcoming Fall/Winter 2026 collection, Marking the Turn, explores seasonal rituals through folk-inspired techniques. Each design reflects transitions between seasons, using color and form drawn from functional historical practices.
