artisans

The new generation of creatives needs to be supported and promoted, especially now. 35 students from the MA  Fashion Course got the chance to reinvent Tod’s iconic pieces, guided by 26 expert mentors from the fashion industry.

Tod’s Legacy is an initiative which was launched on February 19th, during the opening of London Fashion Week with a digital project which was unveiled on a dedicated platform.

In the awareness that in such a complicated moment the new generation of creatives must be supported and promoted, Tod’s announced the collaboration, initiated last July as part of Tod’s Academy, with the prestigious Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts for a special project in which young creativity dialogues with Tod’s values ​​and expresses itself in total freedom.

Tod’s Academy is a laboratory of ideas based in the luxury brand’s headquarters in the Marche region of Italy. It is conceived as a place for doing and thinking, in which artisans accompany and support students, offering them ways and techniques to materialize ideas. Tod’s Academy is the expression of the highest culture of Made in Italy and the excellence of the luxury group’s shoemaking artisans and is designed with a view to generational continuity, mixed with the modern and personal point of view of each creative.

Thought by Diego Della Valle and coordinated by Fabio Piras, course director of Central St Martins MA Fashion Course, the project  was presented during the London Fashion Week, through a big digital exhibition.

The 2021 Tod’s Legacy project includes 35 young designers from all corners of the world, chosen directly by Central Saint Martins: a borderless selection which enriches the Tod’s universe with further facets; of new points of view, visions and values. Through this collaboration, with a view to social sustainability, each creative receives a scholarship, which means an effective support in both studies and professional development.

Each student was asked to give his or her own interpretation of one or more Tod’s codes, focusing on the creative process that led to the final proposal. The objects of this study have been the icons as well as the techniques of the brand: D Bag, Gommino, T Timeless and the handmade craftsmanship. This proposal was read through very personal lenses:deconstructed, taken apart, patchworked, embroidered, made in sustainable materials or assigned to new functions. In this process of analysis, which was carried out with inventive means, each student has been supported by a mentor and sparring partner, by a fashion master, in order to evaluate choices and make suggestions

The roster of mentors involved in Tod’s Legacy includes some of the most prestigious international editors, journalists and designers: tastemakers such as Hamish Bowles and Gianluca Longo; editors in-chief such as Emanuele Farneti and Simone Marchetti; critics such as Sarah Mower, Alexander Fury and Angelo Flaccavento; stylists like Francesca Burns; designers such as Simone Rocha and Charles Jeffrey; talent scouts like Sara Maino.

The result is a personal interpretation of the very idea of legacy, meant as cultural and creative baggage. Starting from Tod’s own heritage to interpret it in innovative and spontaneous ways, this generation of creatives blends their own personal legacy – one of culture, studies and family – with the brand. Some of them will also have the opportunity to further enrich their knowledge through an internship at the Tod’s Academy.

“This is a beautiful project that supports students and at the same time brings unusual and innovative points of view to Tod’s. Thanks to all the mentors who have helped us and thanks to Central St. Martins and Fabio Piras for their valuable contribution” explained Diego Della Valle.