Nothing is more important than craftsmanship at Tod’s, one of the big surprises of the current fashion scene. Somewhat under the radar, designer Walter Chiapponi has been working on a major rehaul of the Tod’s brand along with founder Mr. Della Valle who has been a standard bearer of the Made in Italy label. Tod’s no longer just sells shoes and bags but has jettisoned into serious ready to wear territory.

Hence, the funny needle, thread and scissor image created by photographer Tim Walker for the project “The Art of Craftsmanship” with the brand. Tod’s is growing and at the core of the brand are its icons the Gommino shoe and the Di bag. Chiapponi has had a very light hand when it comes to incorporating the icons into his clothes. His ballerinas have Gommino details as well as the arm padding on his outerwear. Walker set out to retrace the phases of creation of the brands iconic products in a typically British fun and surreal way.

His fashion fairy tales for international fashion magazines have created a whole new type of visual language and Tod’s cleverly taps into his skill by promoting its values on the occasion of the Salone del Mobile in Milan these days. Tod’s orange is a new color to look out for. While the brand has always been anchored in Italian lifestyle – but often too methodically as in prior years – this new take with Walker feels fresh.

The project will launch with an exhibition during Milan Design Week 2023 at the Cavallerizze of the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci on April 19th. The exhibition will be open to the public until Saturday 22nd and will then travel around the world throughout the year.