MILAN — Could another designer shake-up be in the cards in Milan?
Sources say Walter Chiapponi will exit his role as creative director of Tod’s in September after the brand’s womenswear spring 2024 show.
Tod’s did not comment on the speculation.
Chiapponi joined Tod’s in October 2019, in charge of the women’s and men’s collections of the brand. His first collection bowed with the fall 2020 season.
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Before Tod’s, Chiapponi worked for years at Bottega Veneta with the brand’s former creative director, Tomas Maier.
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Ahead of the appointment of Chiapponi, Tod’s chairman and chief executive officer Diego Della Valle had been reviewing the role of a creative director of the women’s collections after the exit of Alessandra Facchinetti in 2016, leaving the job to the brand’s team. At the end of June 2019, after five years, Andrea Incontri left his role as menswear creative director of the brand.
Chiapponi succeeded in developing understated and nonchalant yet sophisticated luxury collections that reflected the high-end lifestyle and Italian craftsmanship that Tod’s stands for. He revisited the brand’s staple Gommino pebble detail, supersizing it on Tod’s signature moccasins, ballerinas and boots, and further expanded the selection of handbags — leather and accessories being the label’s core business.
Over the past few seasons, he opted for early-morning shows at Milan’s Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, with models walking through the arresting, postapocalyptic permanent installation “The Seven Heavenly Palaces 2004-2015” by Anselm Kiefer, and staged menswear presentations at the city’s beautiful and storied Villa Necchi Campiglio.
Chiapponi joined just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and as Della Valle was introducing a new strategy and business models of collaborations, including the No_Code project and Tod’s Factory, in a reference to Andy Warhol, and eyeing a younger customer through capsule drops and limited editions.
After Alessandro Dell’Acqua, the late Alber Elbaz designed a capsule of accessories under the Tod’s Factory moniker, launched in summer 2019.
As reported, Della Valle touted the “outstanding” results at the Tod’s brand as he commented on the parent group’s 23.2 percent increase in revenues in the first quarter, which rose to 270.5 million euros, compared with 219.6 million euros in the same period the year before.
Sales of the Tod’s brand climbed 24.4 percent to 130.2 million euros in the first three months of the year.
Tod’s Group is publicly listed in Milan.
Chiapponi’s exit would follow that earlier this year of Serhat Işık and Benjamin A. Huseby, the design duo behind the GmbH label, who left Trussardi after almost two years. Rhude designer Rhuigi Villaseñor and Bally also parted ways in May. Shortly after, Bally named Simone Bellotti design director of the Swiss brand.
Alessandro Michele left Gucci last November, succeeded by Sabato De Sarno, and Jeremy Scott exited Moschino in March. A successor for Scott at Moschino has not been named.