Toast launches collection of “creatively repaired” pieces

Fashion and lifestyle brand Toast has launched a collection of one-of-a-kind “creatively repaired pieces for increased longevity” to demonstrate “the beauty in the process of repairs”.

The Toast Renewed collection features womenswear and menswear garments, as well as soft textiles, which have been mended by the brand’s repair specialists.

Each piece in the collection was created from damaged items from Toast shops and those returned by customers to the warehouse, and evaluated by a Toast repair specialist “who takes fabric, colour and texture into consideration before embarking on the repair,” explains the brand.

Highlights include signature Toast workwear repaired with the ancient Japanese technique of sashiko, as well as Swiss and woven-darned knitwear, and intricately embroidered dresses and quilts mended with patches.

Each repair is specific to the item, adds Toast, and showcases the “unique handwriting” of its team of six repair specialists.

Toast highlights the craftsmanship of repair with Toast Renewed collection

Previously, these pieces would have been held in the brand’s warehouse and sold through sample sales and its outlet shops, but the slow fashion brand wanted to highlight the art of repair and demonstrate how it can be used “to create characterful items with care and attention”.

Suzie de Rohan Willner, chief executive at Toast, said in a statement to FashionUnited: “At Toast, we have long championed the art of repair – the Toast Renewed collection is the next step in our social conscience journey.

“Through the collection we demonstrate the beauty in the process of repair, and hope to honour the strength of a patched and repaired garment.”

The Toast Renewed collection is available exclusively online, with new styles to come later in the year. Prices range from 90 to 350 pounds.

This is the latest initiative from Toast as part of its long-term focus on circularity, expanding on existing projects such as the Toast Exchange, an events-based clothes swap, and its free in-store repair service, Toast Repair, which has so far repaired more than 3,000.

Toast added that it has plans to implement further initiatives across the business, from material sourcing and product development to recycling and product life cycle management. This follows last year’s announcement that it was scaling back its collections to produce 20 percent fewer styles than in previous seasons as part of its roadmap to sustainability.