Tod’s paw patrol

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Feb 23, 2018

Tod’s latest runway show may have opened with super model Gigi Hadid but the element that got the biggest reaction from the audience was what she was carrying – not a bag, but a French bulldog. Though her look wasn’t half bad either – a reverse intarsia shearling coat featuring the illustration of a fine stallion in autumnal ochre, earth and ecru.
 

Tod’s kennel club also included a Maltese pup clutched by a model in a soft leather windbreaker; while another member of the cast in an embossed leather trench coat carried a tiny Prince Charles spaniel. Crufts of London could not have done any better.
 
This was an accomplished collection and show; featuring shearling flight jackets; waxy plum rawhide military coats and fabulous ecru leather ski-jackets.  And lots of plays on the house’s signature moccasins, the heart of the matter at Tod’s.

The canine theme had already begun with the house’s latest ad campaign, which stars Kendall Jenner. The supe carries a baby corgi, along with the house’s new 18 tote bag, in the print ads. While a video ad shown before the show on huge screens inside the PAC art center of Milan featured her, with another French bulldog, dressed in tan leather top, white jeans and the beige moccasins.
 
After a difficult year, Tod’s seems finally on the move again: with new group general manager Umberto Macchi di Cellere sitting front-row. The brand’s next step – developing pop ups within their existing store network, like a new seaside temporary section in its Milan flagship.
 
Too often the demand that Tod’s be centered on leather has led to rather stilted, stiff collections, though this was a fine performance. After the cast paused and posed on bleachers at the entrance to the show, no designer came out and take a bow. Whoever designed it merited one.