Backstage before Tod’s fall/winter 2022 show, Walter Chiapponi wasn’t really in the mood for fashion chit-chat, with news of war in Ukraine dominating the general conversation, and widespread feelings of uncertainty and worry. “In the last few days I decided to strip down and reduce the collection, making it more essential,” he said. Not that Tod’s is about bells and whistles, but he wanted to send a “serious, thought-out, calm message. It isn’t time for frivolity, really.”
Chiapponi’s reductionist approach was echoed in the disciplined ’90s silhouette he referenced. Images of Pina Bausch in a severe, sleek black coat were plastered on his moodboard, signaling that tailoring was top of mind. The first look, on Gigi Hadid, set the tone for a series of masculine suits worn with matching light coats, cut with Neapolitan sartorial precision to give soft-structured ease to their fit. “I wanted to highlight the sensual side of Italian traditional tailoring,” said Chiapponi.
While keeping Tod’s casual vocation, the designer is steering it towards a more refined direction and a chic, rounder aesthetic. He called this spirit “romantic.” An elegant spin was given to outerwear, which was the offer’s core; uniform-inspired, formal long trenchcoats and elongated, sleek greatcoats were cinched at the waist and tightly belted, while capes, “the most essential and rigorous of shapes,” were proposed in many iterations, the best being fringed and handcrafted in thick rustic wool. Thrown over belted leather coats in caramel nappa leather or over zippered black biker jackets, they were eye-catching, giving a jolt of bohemian eccentricity to the collection’s lean silhouette.
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