Toga Autumn Winter 2025 Collection. Royal Academy of Arts, London, February 23rd 2025
Yasuko Furuta’s AW25 collection for TOGA plays with the boundaries of formality, questioning the very essence of traditional dressing codes. Inspired by the effortless yet rebellious style of William Eggleston, Furuta deconstructs the rigid expectations of business attire, transforming classic tailoring into a statement of nonchalance. The collection embraces an aesthetic that is both refined and undone, where structure meets ease and formalwear dissolves into anti-form.
Words by Adam Chan.
Presented at the Royal Academy of Arts, the show opened with a strong look that set the tone for the collection’s dialogue between precision and fluidity. A crisp white button-down, slightly undone and left open at the collar, was styled with an untied black bow tie, evoking Eggleston’s signature play on formalwear. One shoulder of the shirt was exaggerated into a sculptural panel, adding a three-dimensional element that felt both nonchalant and deliberate. This was paired with high-waisted, voluminous black trousers that draped with controlled elegance — polished, yet utterly relaxed.
TOGA’s signature interplay of masculinity and femininity, structure and deconstruction, continued throughout the collection. One standout menswear look perfectly embodied this ethos: a checked overcoat layered with a soft, camel-toned faux fur stole, worn over a silky cream shirt and black wide-leg trousers. The layering felt intuitive, exuding a sense of ease while remaining undeniably chic. This was a man who understands fashion without needing to try too hard — business casual with a refined edge, a balance between tradition and modernity.
Among the womenswear highlights, a striking look fused tactile richness with a play on proportion. A black, long-sleeved fitted top with an oversized, textured collar — part Edwardian ruffle, part contemporary sculptural piece — was tucked into a voluminous white skirt adorned with wispy, feather-like textures. A cinched leather belt added definition, reinforcing TOGA’s signature embrace of hybrid elegance. The look felt effortless yet deeply considered, embodying the collection’s ethos of dressing with taste, intuition, and quiet confidence.
Accessories played a key role in TOGA’s vision of understated statement dressing. Sculptural brooches, necklaces, and layered textures added personality without veering into excess, reinforcing Furuta’s belief that formalwear should be fluid, adaptable, and expressive. Paired with a soundtrack featuring Karlheinz Stockhausen’s avant-garde “Helicopter String Quartet,” the show was a masterclass in refined rebellion — a redefinition of modern elegance through the lens of TOGA’s unique vision.
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