MILAN — Tod’s has partnered with Tim Walker on a new project called “The Art of Craftsmanship” to be unveiled Wednesday during Milan Design Week.
“Italian lifestyle and exceptional craftsmanship are core values for Tod’s and having them interpreted by Tim Walker allows us to convey these values also to the young generations, speaking their language,” said Diego Della Valle, chairman and chief executive officer of Tod’s Group.
Della Valle has long voiced his belief in Italian craftsmanship, a founding value for Tod’s.
The partnership resulted in images and videos that emphasize the phases of the creation of the brand’s signature products, from the Di Bag to the Gommino — the brand’s storied pebble motif — with a touch of irony and in a surreal way.
A making of image of “The Art of Craftsmanship.”
Walker played with the proportions of the objects and the tools used by the artisans to cut the leather, stitch and brush it, shining the light on the hands and the skills of the people who create the products.
“In this increasingly digital world, where so much is being created on an industrial scale by machines and robots, the value of craftsmanship is increasingly precious,” said the British photographer. “Detecting the hand of a skilled craftsperson in a product gives it a unique quality and very particular beauty.”
Walker said spending a day at the Tod’s factory with his set designer Gary Card, they both were inspired by the craftsmanship that goes into the products, while adding a touch of the unexpected. “We wanted to let the specialist tools and methods play a starring role in the photographs — the artisan tools are so specific to the creation of Tod’s iconic products — we wanted to find a way to celebrate them in a slightly surreal way in the photographs, playing with perspective, and hopefully some with some wit.”
The making of “The Art of Craftsmanship.”
Walker is known for his extravagant, artistic images that often encompass elements of the natural world. In 2010 Walker’s first short film, “The Lost Explorer,” premiered at Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland and went on to win best short film at the Chicago United Film Festival in 2011.
In 2012, Walker’s “Storyteller” photographic exhibition opened at Somerset House, London. In a 2013 collaboration with Lawrence Mynott and Kit Hesketh-Harvey, he also released “The Granny Alphabet,” a collection of portraiture and illustration celebrating grandmothers.
In 2012 he received an honorary fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society, and the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London both have Walker’s photographs in their permanent collections. Walker shot the 2018 Pirelli Calendar.
Last year, the Tod’s brand recorded growth in all geographical areas, both in shoes and in the new families of leather goods and accessories, reporting a 19.1 percent increase in revenues to 510 million euros.
In March, commenting on the Tod’s Group 2022 financial results, Della Valle said it “is equally important to protect both our supply chain, which guarantees us the best possible quality, much appreciated by our consumers all over the world and which reinforces the desirability of our Italian lifestyle products. Great emphasis is also given to the world of sustainability, solidarity and welfare, in which our group has been active for many years.”
