Tod’s Has a New Designer, Sources Say
Tod’s has hired a new designer to join its team, possibly leading it, according to Milan-based sources. Walter Chiapponi is said to have joined the company after working for years at Bottega Veneta with the brand’s former creative director, Tomas Maier. Carlo Alberto Beretta, a former Bottega Veneta CEO, joined Tod’s in February as general manager of the brand, and is seen as a potential link with Chiapponi.
Beretta left his post as chief client and marketing officer of Kering at the end of 2017. He had taken up that post, a new one, in September 2016, when Claus-Dietrich Lahrs succeeded him as CEO of Bottega Veneta.
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Details about Chiapponi’s role were not available at press time and Tod’s had no comment on the speculation.
Tod’s chairman and CEO Diego Della Valle last year started a shake-up of the brand’s executive ranks to help push a new strategy and business models of collaborations, introducing the No_Code project, which includes a trademarked “shoeker” — a mix between a shoe and a sneaker, and Tod’s Factory, in a reference to Andy Warhol, and eyeing a younger customer through capsule drops and limited editions. This has led to an overhaul of production, design, marketing and logistics facilities, to which the group’s 5,000 employees, plus another 5,000 to 6,000 “satellite” workers, have had to adapt. After Alessandro Dell’Acqua, Alber Elbaz designed a capsule of accessories under the Tod’s Factory moniker, launched last summer.
Della Valle has been reviewing the role of creative director of the women’s collections after the exit of Alessandra Facchinetti in 2016, leaving the job to the brand’s team. As reported, after five years, Andrea Incontri left his role at the end of June as the brand’s menswear creative director.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
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