Attracted by both the rational tenets of science and the uncontrollable forces of nature, Isabel Toledo links the purity of geometric shapes to the plasticity of living organisms. Her love of geometry comes from her reductionist approach to pattern making: the simplest forms are usually the easiest to produce. To this logical approach, Isabel adds the vital spark of emotion.

Simple and perfect, the circle is one of her favorite sources of inspiration. Early in her career, a Victorian handbag caught her eye, and she developed a series of garments and accessories based on its collapsing circular form. These explorations led to designs in which two flat circles are sewn together at their outer edges while two inner circles act as openings for arm, wrist, neck or hem, as in the packing dress, cape and sleeves. Pursuing the concept further, she cuts a single doughnut-shaped form, using the hole as the hem and gathering the circumference on a drawstring to form the neckline. When this egg dress is made of chiffon, the wearer's walk creates an astonishing effect of an amoeba moving through water.

As Isabel Toledo develops her theorems of organic geometry, strict mathematical shapes evolve into poetic metaphors. Cut from squares and rectangles, the silk gazar coat assembles into an open floral corolla. Fluttering and fanciful, it is far removed from rational geometry. The metamorphosis of science into art is integral to Isabel's concept. She starts with a two-dimensional form, explores its plasticity and spatial possibilities, and integrates bodily movement to create a unique entity in a process of continual transformation.