V&A visitors can borrow foam coats from The Cloakroom by Faye and Erica Toogood
London Design Festival 2015: London-based Studio Toogood has created 150 oversized foam coats for V&A visitors to wear while following a trail around the museum.
The Cloakroom project is a collaboration between Faye Toogood, known better for her furniture, and her sister Erica, who is a trained pattern cutter.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_sq.jpg)
The duo have been working together to design clothes for two years and are set to show their fourth collection in Paris next month.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
"This whole installation is about uniting my sculptural furniture background with Erica's pattern cutting and fashion background," said Faye, who previously designed gender-neutral retail spaces for Selfridges.
For the V&A, the sisters produced 150 coats to be borrowed and worn by visitors based on their Oil Rigger pattern from the Toogood – Unisex Outerwear range.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
They can be picked up from a space surrounded by floor-to-ceiling curtains in one corner of the museum, where the garments hang from a metal rail that curves around the room – furnished with pieces from Faye's Assemblage 4 collection.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
The coats are made from the Highfield compressed foam fabric produced by Danish textile company Kvadrat, which has previously collaborated on a range with fashion designer Raf Simons.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
"We chose this fabric because it's a very sculptural fabric and it takes on the pattern very well," said Faye. "Even on the hangers it has a 3D quality to it."
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
The seams are hand-painted with a dark silicone to emphasise the pattern and cut. Each coat also has a different character face painted on the back "because we don't want to wear a uniform and all be the same," said Faye.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Inside the coats is a giant label, which detaches from the back thanks to a popper. On one side of the label is a map that shows a route around the V&A, which was chosen by Faye to highlight her favourite spots around the building.
Related content: see more projects by Faye Toogood
Along the route are 10 sculptures of the same coat, but crafted in materials that reflect their position in the museum.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
Marble, wood and metal rivets are among the selection used for the pieces, which are each based on a traditional craft. The marble reflects the building's lobby and the wood matches panelling in one of the 16th century Britain galleries.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
"We're very passionate about trade and manufacturing," said Faye, who previously suspended 49 coats above a street in Covent Garden for the Dezeen's Seven Designers for Seven Dials project.
![The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/09/The-Cloakroom-by-Faye-Toogood_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
The Cloakroom was installed to coincide with this year's London Design Festival, which takes place from 19 to 27 September 2015. As a hub venue for the event, the V&A is also hosting also hosting a giant crystal zoetrope, a tower of tiny ceramic shops, and a series of mirrored platforms in different locations around the building.
Photography is by Ed Reeve.