As spring arrived in London, members of the TOAST community gathered at Somerset House to celebrate the launch of our Spring Summer 2025 collection, A Lightness of Being. Held in the Portico Rooms, doors were thrown open to the riverside terrace, echoing the essence of our season concept - expressing the weightlessness of flight, opportunity in experimentation, and freedom in play.
We presented a series of installations inspired by our concept alongside a film directed by Joel Kerr, and our seasonal printed book. Under high ceilings, the thrum of visitors was accompanied by the gentle sway of kinetic sculptures, washi paper kites wending in the breeze.
At the heart of our display in the central hall was an installation by floral designers Frida Kim and Wagner Kreusch, created for TOAST using handmade Korean washi paper and dried delphinium petals. Inspired by the simple act of flying a kite, the piece becomes a metaphor for hope, lightness and the spirit of childhood. “We found ourselves captivated by the idea of blending the ethereal quality of paper with the organic essence of flowers,” Frida explained. “This led us to pose the question: what if flowers could fly?”
Playful movement also took physical form in a series of kinetic mobiles created by Phineas Harper for TOAST’s window displays. Trained as an architect, Phineas works across disciplines to engage a wide public with design. For our partnership, they crafted intricate structures using carefully chosen materials - from burl wood veneers to bio-resins derived from textile waste - each element responding to the themes of balance, spontaneity and weightlessness.
Nearby, a large-scale screen presented A Lightness of Being, a performance film created in partnership with NOWNESS and directed by Joel Kerr. Choreographed by Japanese movement artist and Club Origami founder Takeshi Matsumoto, the film brings together movement and material through the language of origami. Dancers Francesca Matthys and Masumi Saito join Takeshi to explore how clothing, creativity and gesture intersect. A qualified movement psychotherapist, Takeshi’s work often engages with communities through dance - as a way of acknowledging difference and fostering connection.
“When I am seeking hope, I manifest inspiration through artistic collaboration,” Takeshi says. “The materiality of the paper we used in the film teaches us how to be flexible and playful. It’s important to challenge the familiar ways of approaching creativity. With origami, each fold reveals a new shape that takes my imagination in a different direction. Risk-taking and experimentation lead us to somewhere lighter and more interesting, a place where trust between artists becomes stronger.”
Alongside the installations, we launched our seasonal printed book. It weaves together interviews and stories from around the world, meeting kite makers, aeronautical engineers, and dancers who lift us beyond the everyday through imagination, improvisation and experimentation. In its pages are also the voices of our longstanding partners - mulmul weavers in India, shoemakers in Scotland and Slovakia - whose knowledge and craftsmanship ground the more ephemeral ideas of the season.
Throughout the space, a quiet invitation emerged. Whether through the fold of paper, the arc of a dancer’s body, or the movement of light across a suspended mobile, A Lightness of Being offers a moment to pause and be lifted.
Words by Lauren Sneade.
Photography by James Bannister.
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