MILAN — The announcement of a collaboration between Tod’s and Automobili Lamborghini a little less than a year ago left many wondering what the tie-up could look like, although a teaser video shared back then offered some clues.
Aimed at endorsing the Italian lifestyle, a key topic for both companies and especially for Tod’s, which has been spotlighting its love for the country with communication activities and products, the collaboration hinges on shared values as Diego Della Valle, chairman and chief executive officer of Tod’s Group, put it.
“The attention to detail, the constant research and innovation are key values for both brands, and truly represent Italian style,” he said.
For the first drop of the ongoing co-branding project, the two companies are focusing on the signature Tod’s Gommino loafer and a sneaker.
Decamping to Florence, the brands will host a cocktail reception on Wednesday at the Stazione Leopolda venue to coincide with Pitti Uomo.
The industrial space, a regular location for the trade show’s side events, will feature an installation dedicated to the co-branded footwear flanked by two Lamborghini Revueltos, a mid-engine, plug-in, hybrid sports car officially unveiled by the luxury car maker last year.
Tod’s Gommino loafer is arguably the brand’s most recognizable product and, incidentally, a driving shoe. In the co-branded collection, it was updated in a slightly chunkier and more geometric version, with smooth and striped leather — the latter the result of a “tubular technique” — combined on the upper part in nods to the aerodynamic livery of Lamborghini’s sports car.
The loafer’s signature rubber pebbles on the outsole are supersized and in a contrasting color that matches the shoe’s upper part or the structured heel. The latter bears the Automobili Lamborghini logo, a golden bull framed in a shield.
The sneakers, modeled after Tod’s low-top designs, combine white and gray leather and suede with colorful accents on the tongue, collar and stripes running down the sides to frame the Automobili Lamborghini logo. They feature a rubber pebbles-bearing heel.
Both designs are available for men and women in blue, sunflower yellow and green iterations. They will exclusively retail starting Wednesday on a dedicated website in tandem with the event with a price tag of $895 for the Gommino loafer and $975 for the sneakers.
The company said this release marks the first chapter of the project, which will eventually include leather goods and apparel drops.
The collaboration is seen as furthering the luxury positioning of the Tod’s brand and tapping into high-end consumers’ penchant for tie-ups, especially with a player such as Lamborghini, whose six-figure cars are considered a status symbol for the most affluent.
This is not the first time the brand has toyed with the world of mobility. In 2022 it dropped a limited-edition, 70-piece bicycle developed with Italian bike manufacturer Colnago.
Through its Tod’s Factory, the creative laboratory launched in 2018 with the goal of creating unconventional projects with designers and artists from the world of luxury and design, the brand has unveiled a three-pronged collaboration with Moncler and Palm Angels. It followed tie-ups with Alessandro Dell’Acqua, the late Alber Elbaz, Maiko Kurogouchi, the designer behind the Japanese label Mame Kurogouchi, and Hender Scheme, by Japanese designer Ryo Kashiwazaki. Last fall Palm Angels’ founder and creative director Francesco Ragazzi revisited the Tod’s tabs sneaker.
As reported, last December Tod’s named Matteo Tamburini, a Bottega Veneta alum, its new creative director, in charge of both the women’s and men’s collections. His first collection for Tod’s will be for women’s fall 2024 to be presented as part of Milan Fashion Week in February.
