Organic Geometry

The term Organic Geometry blends Toledo’s most innovative design concepts with the simplest of shapes, combining the intuitive with the geometric. The two-dimensional shapes of many of the objects in this category are vastly different from the forms the objects assume when worn.

The Packing dresses each consist of two circles of fabric, sewn together, with openings for head, arms, and legs. The dresses can be folded flat, but on the body they transform into voluminous shapes. When laid flat, the Jellyfish dress looks like a doughnut, with a large circle cut out to accommodate the head and a smaller one to make the hem. When worn, the dress wafts and moves weightlessly, like the sea creature for which it is named.

Undulating layers of diaphanous silk chiffon were used to create the Apron dress, in which the angularity of the pattern pieces that comprise the bodice, torso ties, and skirt lose their evident geometry. This metamorphosis is what Toledo calls her "romantic mathematics" approach to dressmaking. This concept is also evident in Cornflower, a dress consisting of a half dozen arced tubes of matte jersey that gradually descend the body in precise increments to create draped swags.