The faces a brand chooses to walk in its show tend to denote its target audience and today Tod’s kicked off the third day of Milan Fashion Week with a catwalk staged at the Hangar Biccoca, contemporary art gallery that was once a Pirelli tyre factory, that swapped its usual cast of Gen Z supermodels (Gigi, Kendall) for two OG supers: Carla Bruno and Naomi Campbell.
The move signalled a gentle revision of tone for creative director Walter Chapponi, who took the reins in 2019 and today delivered a collection lighter on the youth-centric wardrobe of mini skirts, bombers and stomper boots he’s favoured of late, instead focussing more heavily on refined and elegant silhouettes for a more grown-up customer.
Knit maxi dresses, shin-length ruched shirt dresses and cotton gabardine driving jackets and trench coats came in an understated palette of all-natural desert hues: from pale nude and dusty beige through to powdery pink and burnt ochre. A python print broke up the beige in a power dressing broad-shouldered trench and a midi skirt with clever semi-slashed effect.
As one would expect from a leather house, the skin featured heavily and imaginatively throughout. Tailored slacks reworked in leather and styled with a silk cummerbund and formal shirt felt particularly cool, as did a black leather bustier layered atop a black leather shirt. A suede blouson sleeve longline bomber paired with a suede skirt, both in tonal browns, was retro but fresh.
For Tod’s, which began life as a shoemaker and also owns shoe brands Hogan and Roger Vivier, footwear is always a focus. And today the 100-year-old house debuted a new shoe: the “Bubble ballerina”- that might just burst the Miu Miu ballerina’s bubble.
The ballet flat is enjoying a TikTok-fuelled resurgence and Tod’s bid to get in on the action comes in both leather and satin and has a blown-up version of the brand’s signature rubber bobbled sole, making for more comfortable pirouetting than your average. Gen Z approved yes, but Tod’s new pumps come with cross-generational appeal.
