Tod’s sensual elegance on show amidst The Seven Heavenly Palaces
Nicola Mira
The runway show staged by Tod’s at HangarBicocca, inside the PirelliMilan Fashion Week
“I have always centred my work on romanticism, tenderness and sensuality. This season, my emphasis is on eroticism and, since I’m always going on about Italian lifestyle, I have to say that Italian women have a very special eroticism,” said Chiapponi, creative director of Tod’s, talking to FashionNetwork.com
The collection’s signature items include a pea coat with leather-covered buttons in the style of Tod’s iconic gommino shoe soles, a parka with couture accents, a series of cropped, cinched bomber jackets, in nappa leather or in wool with shearling trimming, and elegantly cut padded jackets in fabric or leather. And also men’s suits, some of them pinstriped, featuring power-shouldered jackets with no lapels worn over structured shirts, and cocooning oversized coats down to the ankles. The knitwear is uber-feminine, a zipped polo shirt has leather accents, and a knitted dress is both sensual and enveloping. The fabrics chosen by Chiapponi are exclusively natural: wool and cotton combine with the softest and most exquisite leather, personalised with artisanal treatments. The colour palette is mostly restricted to warm hues, beige, brown and cream, but includes sharp black or white looks.
Tod’s boss Diego Della ValleAnna Wintour
Pirelli HangarBicocca is a not-for-profit foundation set up in Milan in 2004, when a disused industrial plant was converted into the home of an organisation that produces and promotes contemporary art. Kiefer’s ‘The Seven Heavenly Palaces’ installation was conceived and presented for the opening of the Pirelli Hangar. It owes its name to the palaces described in the ancient Hebrew treatise ‘Sefer Hekhalot’ (the book of palaces), dating back to the 4th-5th century AD. The installation’s seven towers are made of reinforced concrete. Each weighs 90 tons, and they vary in height from 14 to 18 metres.