The recent inclusion of homeware hasbrought fabulous throws

Tag : Magic Slippers
In the 11 years since husband-and-wife team Jamie and JessicaSeaton (inset) founded the company, its catalogues have been shoteverywhere from Sri Lanka to Morocco. Everywhere that women withwanderlust and desire to be chic have wanted to go.
From their rambling rural home in Wales, the Seatons have developeda label that has grown from pyjamas to slinky silk dresses, sharptailoring and cosy knitwear. The recent inclusion of homeware hasbrought fabulous throws, desirable soaps and scents, as well asthings you want without knowing why, such as storm lanterns and acable-knit tea cosy.
Russia, and the fairy tales illustrated by Ivan YakovlevichBilibin, were the inspiration for the warm colours and textures ofthe new autumn/winter collection. As Jamie explains: "I'veknown about Bilibin since my father read the stories to me as achild. I realised recently they could inspire a collection –there's an opulence about the clothes in the pictures, and a senseof wildness and mystery that's enticing."
To bring the collection to life, Jamie and his wife travelled toSlovakia with a crew of models, stylists and local fixers. Thethree-week shoot was quite an adventure. "We saw deer, bearsand wolves while we were up in the Carpathian mountains," herecalls.
The production staff had the tough task of approaching localresidents for permission to shoot: every location, interior andexterior, is authentic. "They go off to thatforbidding-looking farmhouse and ask the owners if we can look intheir bedroom," says Seaton with a laugh. "We stayed in atown called Stary Smokovec; it's an old resort from late Habsburgdays so we stayed in a once-grand hotel that had kept going throughthe Soviet years. It was a little like the hotel in TheShining!"
It is Toast's organic way of working – from original conceptto finished imagery – that makes it so desirable. And whenits new catalogue is published in two weeks' time, the Slovakiantourist board can no doubt expect a flurry of enquiries from womenwanting to capture that elusive lifestyle magic.
How Toast gets its look (see images above)
1. The location
"Holíc Castle was owned centuries ago by EmpressTheresa. It's in the west of Slovakia, 30 miles from Vienna,"Jamie Seaton explains of this photograph.
"In the summer, the court would head to Holíc, to beattended to by 1,000 retainers, It's now owned by the local townbut is derelict. We photographed in a chinoiserie-style room, whichwas beautiful but faded."
Cord necklace, £39; silk velvet tunic; £125; trousers,£35; Sylvie heels, £145.
2. The props
"We were looking for a red Lada, as there was a theme of redin the photos. We ended up swapping our location van for this fadedexample for an evening. This was taken just outside a Roma village.I love the sense that what's happening is within a landscape; thatthe clothes are within a context."
Poplin fitted shirt, £75; wrist-warmers, £22; Zendaskirt, £145; pumps, £89.
3. The extras
"This man lived in this tiny house (now a heritage site) yearsago. He now lives in a nearby town but was happy to open up for us.Here he is at the stove making us tea. The idea is that the modelis his niece come to visit, but she suggested she might be hispregnant lover!"
Wrap cardigan, £155; cotton silk chemise paysanne, £89;leg-warmers, £29; sheepskin slippers, £25.
4. The still-life
"This is the work-shop of a house; it seemed a wonderful placeto shoot these shoes – a variation of a style we have donefor a couple of seasons. They have that burnished look thatphotographs well in shadow – they appear to glimmer."
Jazz derbys, £145.
www.toast.co.uk
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