News feed
MILAN, ITALY: Carla Bruni opened the TOD’S Spring/Summer 2023 show inside an old-tyre-factory-come-contemporary-art-venue on the outskirts of Milan on Friday morning. In my mind and in every measure, she is the TOD’S woman: established, effortlessly sophisticated, confident, content.
While show’s set production was easily the standout star of the season – read: stories-high concrete huts stacked on top of one another and bathed in TOD’S orange light – Bruni’s opening look set the (neutral) tone for the collection: A caramel beige pant-and-shirt combo, coat, loafers and matching top handle. (The concrete towers are actually a part of the permanent installation by German artist Anselm Kiefer. Called The Seven Heavenly Palaces.) As Bruni wandered through the sprawling set, it was as though guests were watching her walk through an Italian town.
The collection paid homage to designer Walter Chiapponi’s fascination with 90s minimalism; powder pink, dusty beige, and pops of deep reds and yellow. The addition was leather was a welcome one (hello, a little leather slip dress!) adding a sleek feel to the brand’s more casual neutrals. The T Timeless bags – the ones we hug at night because they are so soft – have gotten an update with new sizes, shapes and colours added to the mix. But it was a styling trick during this show that has stayed with me for days hereafter: the turning down of the bustier so as to accentuate the waist. Take a look.
Naomi Campbell closed the show in a shiny dove grey coat as steely as her runway look. While she’s not the name that comes to the top of my mind as the TOD’S woman, her addition proves that Chiapponi’s sharp little updates are making the brand more accessible/appealing to a wider scope of women.
“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,” Chiapponi said.
Explore some highlights from the SS23 collection now:
