Walter Chiapponi showed Tod’s spring collection within the vast spaces of Pirelli HangarBicocca, a contemporary art venue on the outskirts of Milan that hosts a permanent installation by German artist Anselm Kiefer. Called The Seven Heavenly Palaces, Kiefer’s installation features seven massive, slightly askew concrete towers. They would dwarf even the most magniloquent collection—so kudos to Chiapponi for his bravery.
The collection paid homage to the designer’s fascination for ’90s minimalism, which makes sense from a stylistic standpoint because Tod’s couldn’t really embrace any “design excess,” as Chiapponi put it, or any overly edgy gesture. That’s why he seems to be a good fit for the brand: On the one hand he’s playing by the rules, and on the other he’s brought about a sleeker, more refined feel, updating the label’s casual look.
Leather dressing was the collection’s pivot, as well as the “manipulation of traditional masculine codes,” Chiapponi said backstage. Cue the series of dresses in nude or caramel stretch glove leather playing on contrasting silhouettes, which ran the gamut from slim-fitting to voluminous. The interpretation of the masculine pantsuit was soft-tailored and fluid.
Bookended by appearances by Carla Bruni and Naomi Campbell—who wore a monochromatic dusted-pink three-piece shirt-suit under a city coat and a strong-shouldered dove gray leather trench, respectively—the collection alternated structure with fluidity. Said Chiapponi: “As much as I like minimalism, I wanted to express a more sensuous feel, balancing luxury with essentiality, and twisting masculine codes into a more blurred, softer identity.”
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