Here’s how to put your best foot forward on social media
He is one of fashion’s true maestros. Diego Della Valle started one the industry’s of most respected fashion houses, Tod’s.
Della Valle is president and CEO of Tod’s, the luxury fashion group, which is home to the Roger Vivier, Fay and Hogan brands. The shoe that remains the group’s forte and its icon is the Gommino. The first shoes that Tod’s ever designed based on driving moccasins — their trademark — are rubber pebble soles. The word for pebble in Italian is gommini and this where the shoe’s name comes from. And it takes at least 35 pieces of leather that are hand-sewn to make one shoe. Italy’s Della Valle family owns 61.5 per cent of Tod’s Group, where sales totalled €722.2 million in the first nine months of 2017.
What has helped keep Della Valle’s stay on top of the fashion game is his agility. As we all know, the one constant in fashion is change and this is something Tod’s knows, despite its elegant and classic aesthetics. Tod’s’ stays on its feet, especially when it comes to being digital-friendly. An example of this is the Tod’s Circus collection, a capsule collection that was launched in Dubai this week. Created by fashion icon and social media star Anna Dello Russo, this is a collection full of colour, quirk and glitter.
The 63-year-old Delle Valle explains: “We do have a careful eye on the new social media era and we work in this new way following the needs of our clients first of all, and maintaining our DNA and Italian roots very strong. These collaborations are definitely important in terms of digital content and echo we had, but what is more important for us is keeping loyal to Tod’s; [that’s] the message we are transmitting.”
The collection is inspired by the circus world, and it features Tod’s Double T bag in two sizes, the backpack, the iconic Gommino, slippers and sneakers.
What Tod’s has managed to do with this capsule collection (earlier this year they came out with a Tattoo collection where they worked with celebrity tattoo artist Saira Hunjan) is prove you can be “with it” yet stay true to your DNA.
Says Della Valle: “Tod’s is keeping up with these changes, though maintaining fixed is what is crucial for us. Our handmade DNA and our Italian roots, which will always remain the same… it is for sure important to create capsule collections keeping in mind the digital and online world [both editorial and commercial], but as you can see with both Tattoo and Circus, Tod’s has interpreted the brand’s iconic shoes and bags, therefore not only creating a fashion episode but keeping timeless our products with a contemporary twist.”
With stores in over 100 countries, each project is taken to major markets first. So in the case of Circus, it was launched officially in Tokyo last month, and with Dubai, there will also be the Circus pop-up in Milan, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuwait.
With Tod’s opening a new boutique at The Dubai Mall next year, Della Valle himself is planning a trip to the city. He was here a few months ago for the Tattoo collection launch. And don’t be surprised if this store launch also involves a ‘Made for Dubai’ limited-edition collection, as Tod’s was one of the first luxury brands to introduce the idea of city-specific collections.
— sujata@khaleejtimes.com