The Toothpaste collection is the result of a collaboration between Bethan Laura Wood and Valextra to reimagine the brand’s Iside top-handle and Passepartout bags for Spring/Summer 2018. Wood describes the collection as being ‘somewhere between Neapolitan ice cream and your father’s 1970s ties, with a bit of mint toothpaste.’ Taking inspiration from the colour and surreal forms in the work of Eduardo Paolozzi and industrial factory piping, Wood reimagined the clean and ordered lines typical of Valextra into whimsical and colourful wiggly lines. Using variations of the wiggly lines she created a modular system applied to handles, clasps and details on the bags. She created seven different handles and four clasps for the Iside as well as three pocket designs for the Passepartout.
Her design process begins with sketching and then continues with the creation of prototypes made of laser cut paper. Experimenting first with paper, Wood could then test her ideas and shapes in London before creating the technical drawings used by the manufacturer in Italy to produce the final pieces.