October 20, 2025 |
A trip to Fantastic Toiles can feel like you’re shopping while on acid. In one corner, you have Yorkshire-born Freyja Newsome selling her dishevelled Mvudslyde togs that look like they’ve been dug up from a time capsule dating back to 400BC.
Across the way, there’s Ed Curtis, whose hand-painted tees and swirly hoodies make up a vivid wardrobe of pieces he likes to call “the ultimate fashion art attack”. There’s crusty rave wear (Jonty K. Mellmann), mutant baby head merch (4FSB), sissy-boy frocks and snouts sewn onto T-shirts (Pig Ignorant), and the sort of extra large, furry top hats, courtesy of Benny Andallo, that would have Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay shaking with envy.
The nomadic, motley crew of makers, artists and designers assemble every few months, transforming venues tucked away in London’s hidden corners into bustling marketplaces that are always met with queues that snake down the street. They each pay a fee to help with the hiring of the space and the cost of setting up shop. They make what they like, sell as much or as little as they want and take home the entirety of the profits. No hidden commission fees, no chasing wholesale invoices. Make, sell, take home what’s yours.
Orchestrating it all is Nasir Mazhar, the 42-year-old East London-born menswear maven and headwear wizard who started the market (brilliantly nicknamed “fanny twirls” by the crew involved) in 2019. Here, we meet 10 of the emerging designers that call Fantastic Toiles home.
Benny Andallo
Milliner extraordinaire Benny Andallo, who already counts Rihanna and Junya Watanabe as fans, creates larger-than life headgear that’ll have you feeling like you’re in main character mode. His XXL baker boy hats in fluffy animal prints are particularly excellent, as are his jacquard top hats and trapper hats equipped with teddy bear ears. Head game strong.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
Silly crowns that animate reality.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
Being part of a community where each person has their own individual creative identity and a respect for alternative design. It’s great to see every designer or creative push each time through limitations and resourcefulness.
What sort of things do you sell?
Silly crowns.
What’s your funniest memory from working there?
When everyone eventually ends up drinking on shift.
Why should people shop there?
It’s a place to get a dopamine hit through the freaky worlds of each designer. Everything is made by the designer or artist and each purchase gives the power back to the creative, with no middle person’s influence or take.
@bennyandallo
DragaDina
“Handmade fantasia” is how the Rotterdam-based designer Noortje Mulders describes her label, DragaDina, with its whirlwind of colour and texture. Hairy bomber jackets? Spiral swirled tops with spikes along the arms? Why not?! Add in fluffy playsuits, snakeskin bikinis and bags shaped like sad rabbits and you have the sort of garb that could dress you in another dimension.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
A worm in my head makes the decisions. It’s a possession.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
Random things people bring. Space for experimentation and ugliness. The deadlines that motivate me to make things that I’d like to wear myself somehow. The collective is a beautiful bunch of aliens I love to be surrounded by.
What sort of things do you sell?
Fuzzy underwear with a tail, leather bunny bags, baby towel body armour, shoulder corset jackets, newspaper-print two pieces, glitter animal bikinis, spiked football hats, round pants.
What’s the funniest thing about working there?
How people keep calling it Fantastic Toilets!
Why should people shop there?
The designers get to keep all the profits and we all share our creative minds. You can talk to us and ask about the clothing, and we can tailor it for you. Plus, we can tell you all sorts of things about it. I think it is unique.
@dragadina
Ed Curtis
Describing his label as “the ultimate fashion art attack”, the colourful stylings of Ed Curtis include baby tees hand painted with smiley faces and mismatched checked shirts emblazoned with tattoo like motifs – all made to order, with many pieces one-of-one. You can’t step out in East London without spotting one of Curtis’s star vests or spiral hoodies, built to bring a joyful thrill to everyday dressing.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
A constant output of chaotic, expressive handmade pieces.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
My favourite thing is its difference. There is nothing else like it in London. Nasir has created something where the emphasis is on experimentation and he challenges designers to push creative boundaries.
What sort of things do you sell?
This time I’m selling a variety of new bags, all made using materials I’ve created and collected over the years. The emphasis has been to push the textiles and shapes to a new place. I’ve also worked on a bunch of screen-printed pieces, which is something I haven’t done in a long time.
Why should people shop there?
These are future antiques, so you are making an investment in your future by shopping here.
@ed_curtis__
Mvudslyde
Yorkshire-born Freyja Newsome finds beauty in decay. Her designs for Mvudslyde (said “mud slide”) resemble ancient relics discovered from times long before now. Each piece, including tattered bras, deconstructed knits and slouched frocks with a witchy feel, is distressed and treated by hand to look as if it’s weathered from centuries of wear.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
Wonky donkey one-offs.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
My fanny twirls gang! I didn’t know anyone when we started. I’d only met Nasir when I was high at Slimelight in the smoking area. I probably said something embarrassing because I was a bit starstruck. Five years on and I have an amazing community of people and friends around me working towards a common goal, which is the meaning of life.
What sort of things do you sell?
Whatever I want. There are no rules other than, “Don’t make something shit.” And even then that’s subjective as one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But usually it’s a place for me to flesh out ideas and experiments. The clue’s in the name, I guess [a toile being a trial garment]. It’s good to have freedom. The shared attitude is what’s brought us together and means you push yourself to make stuff that’s more mad.
What’s your funniest memory from working there?
We scream, fight, cackle, moan and natter constantly. But recently, though this is more ‘funny weird’, at the last shop I had my phone nicked and in the space of an hour someone random bought it then just gave it back to me. That was unbelievable. The universe works in mysterious ways. Maybe that was my good karma cashing in.
Why should people shop there?
It’s important to support all independent ventures. They are what makes London cool. We encourage people to come out, hang and have a look at the clothes even if they’re skint. I’ve met loads of people through doing the shop. It’s a magickal emporium where you can find stuff you won’t see anywhere else ever again.
@mvudslyde
4FSB
Jamie Bull’s nightmarishly good 4FSB label produces T-shirts and hoodies that look like they’ve been found in the weirdest corners of the internet. From pig-human hybrids to ghoulish portraits with names like “gnasher” and “rat boy”, his warped creations could easily double as merch for a menacing boyband from the underworld.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
Depressed 15-year-old with a screw loose and a sense of humour.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
I’ve been a friend and fan of Nasir’s since the early 2000s. To me, he is an underappreciated genius. He is a great mentor and inspiration, so it is a total privilege and validation to be part of Fanny’s. You get to have a unique platform to showcase your work as an independent artist/designer. And you get to hang out with all your mates, which include most of our regulars, get pissed – optional – and make your own money. Plus, you get first dibs on the new stuff!
What sort of things do you sell?
I sell one-off hand-dyed, bleached and painted baseball caps alongside tees and hoodies adorning my imagery.
What’s your funniest memory from working there?
It’s always funny!
Why should people shop there?
It’s a unique shopping experience with one-off pieces made by independent designers and artists.
@_4_f_s_b_
Jonty K. Mellmann
Weekends spent getting lairy in muddy fields feed Jonty K. Mellmann’s rave-ready designs. The Buckinghamshire born upcycler uses charity-shop finds and deadstock clothes and fabrics to create collaged tees and patchworked jeans that capture the hedonism of an all-nighter.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
A blend of nutty undertones with quality crusty hardcore flavour!
What’s your favourite thing about Fantastic Toiles?
You get to be part of a small community of likeminded individuals who have unique perspectives on clothing and creativity. It’s nice to bounce ideas off each other, get to know people, spend time together and see what amazing things everyone has made.
What sort of things do you sell?
I have a new project, Psychological Warfare, that’s inspired by my favourite band [English industrial group] Current 93, during its Swastikas for Noddy [album] period. It’s about how we are made to be ‘minions’ by the mass production of trash we are subjected to. It has military clothes made out of Noddy bedsheets, patchworked Minions T-shirts and so on. [Noddy being a character created by children’s author Enid Blyton.]
What’s your funniest memory from working there?
The SHOWstudio x Fantastic Toiles fashion film premiere was lovely. But I was camera-shy for interviews and came across as a real plonker in that film, so much so that I dare not watch it ever again! When my bit came on I said, “Oh God” in grief afterwards. Everyone laughed, so I guess my public humiliation was hilarious. I’m glad this is an email interview!
Why should people shop there?
God gave us free will so that we could choose our paths for ourselves through the education of experience and the guidance of wisdom. It is not for me to instruct people what to do. But if you want to treat yourself to a one-off piece of not-so-fast fashion, peruse a selection of bizarre oddities or even just hang out with a goofy gang of giddy designers handpicked by Nasir Mazhar, Fantastic Toiles is totally the place to be. And this time around it should be looking extra special. Hang 10!
@jontykmellmann
Jawara Alleyne
In the world of Alleyne, the familiar is sliced, diced and transformed. Hacking at deadstock T-shirts and fabrics before safety-pinning them back into divine formations, he has a deft draping ability that draws on his Caribbean heritage and life growing up in the Cayman Islands. Rihanna is a superfan and the likes of Charli xcx and Shakira have turned to the designer’s multicoloured concoctions for their onstage uniforms.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
Art-driven fashion exploring culture through identity and heritage.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
The autonomy you get as a designer to test new ideas and products. It’s truly a place where experimentation, deconstruction and the avant-garde can have a life.
What sort of things do you sell?
For this summer drop, we’re offering sexier items for the season, like slinky tops and skirts and a selection of our signature T-shirts, as well as some deconstructed tailoring. We’ll also be releasing some new keychains that people are currently obsessed with.
Why should people shop there?
Because it’s one of the only places in London where the underground and anti-fashion scenes are still alive. It captures the spirit of what London is all about. It’s a shame that so many independent retailers have closed, but with the shifts in the fashion industry overall, spaces like Fantastic Toiles are more vital than ever. It’s an echo chamber of creativity and new ideas being pushed. It’s also a space where independent designers, artists and creatives come together to share their energy, and there’s a real purity in engaging with those practices.
@jawaraalleyne
Pig Ignorant
Get piggy with it. The chaotic world of Pig Ignorant is chock-full of brilliantly bonkers one-offs. Is it a pair of frilly camo shorts you fancy? How about barnyard bonnets that look like Little Bo Beep lost her sheep but found a bunch of crusty clubbers instead? Add in some lace babydoll frocks and crocheted tees stamped with 3D snouts and you’ve got your very own barnyard bonanza. Oink!
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
Domestic, frilly, sissy, brash, utilitarian, crusty, sustainable, slow.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
The freedom of independence while having the support of 30-plus other designers around you, each thriving in their own unique way. No competition, just total admiration for each other’s incredible work.
What sort of things do you sell?
Clothes that I design and make – pretty simple really!
What’s your best memory from working there?
I had lots of fun making my collaboration with Rae Fior Lowe, one of the other designers from the store. We spent many hours painstakingly crafting the pieces at their squat over a period of around a month. There were lots of funny moments involving the various characters that would come and go through the building day by day.
Why should people shop there?
To support the freedom and autonomy of independent designers in an industry that favours fast, mass production in spite of creativity.
@pig_ignorant
Saskia Lenaerts
“Disarming prejudice through therapeutic design” is the mantra behind Londoner Saskia Lenaerts’s namesake label. The Central Saint Martins alum takes apart military garments like knits and camo shirts, dismantling their previous purposes to create something tender and completely new.
Describe your brand in 10 words or less.
My practice aims for a transnational way of life by disarming prejudice.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of Fantastic Toiles?
The freedom it offers me as a designer. It takes away pressure because it is so immediate. I am a direct person so [I value] the opportunity to engage directly with the customers or collectors. It opens up what we consider ‘valuable’ or what value consists of. Is it valuable because of materiality, idea, hours of labour, craft, uniqueness? It’s different for all the designers. It diversifies our perception of value but the approach is egalitarian.
What sort of things do you sell?
Mostly one-off pieces. These are outcomes from research and concepts I collate. I produce and sell the whole wardrobe range, from coats and jumpers to shoes. Occasionally I produce small runs, up to five-of-akind or in a variety of materials. Most of my garments are made by repurposing military or martial arts uniforms. [Recycling] military wool knits is one of my staples. To repurpose these quality materials intended for combat, conflict and destruction subversively becomes liberating for my own creative process.
What’s your best memory from working there?
Everyone trying on each other’s pieces, sharing that excitement. Us having a styling and dress-up session 24/7 when we are together. Why should people shop there? The objects we surround ourselves with contain meaning and energy. How we adorn our bodies influences our wellbeing. [Going there lets you] experience what off-the-grid designers are creating. We instil parts of ourselves into the objects we offer you. Experience FT with the intention to cherish.
@world_saskia
Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 75 – BIRTHDAY, EVOLVE, TRANSFORMATION – out on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
THE EMPORIUM
Photographer ELLIOTT MORGAN
Text PAUL TONER
Designers NASIR MAZHAR, BENNY ANDALLO, DRAGADINA, ED CURTIS, MVUDSLYDE, 4FSB, JONTY K. MELLMANN, JAWARA ALLEYNE, PIG IGNORANT and SASKIA LENAERTS
