Inside Tod's Pre-Show Process with Matteo Tamburini
Tod's offered a behind-the-scenes look at its Fall-Winter 2026/27 collection prep, showcasing new Creative Director Matteo Tamburini's hands-on approach. The brand also highlighted the close collaboration between Tamburini's team and ambassador Xiao Zhan, who received personal fittings for the new collection, illustrating the integration of talent at the highest level.
Matteo Tamburini was appointed Creative Director in December 2023, succeeding Walter Chiapponi. He joined Tod's from Bottega Veneta, where he had been a head designer since 2017, working under both Daniel Lee and Matthieu Blazy, specializing in leather goods, outerwear, and tailoring. Tamburini's appointment comes as Tod's navigates a significant strategic shift, with LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton acquiring a 36% stake in the company to take it private. The move aims to bolster the brand's strategy of emphasizing high-quality, "Made in Italy" craftsmanship and the quintessential Italian lifestyle. His debut collection for Fall/Winter 2024 was staged in Milan's historic tram depot, a nod to movement and urban energy. The collection focused on polished, wearable luxury, featuring sleek leather shirt jackets, voluminous coats, and wide-leg trousers, signaling a refined and contemporary evolution for the house's core codes. The collaboration with Global Ambassador Xiao Zhan, appointed in 2021, is central to the brand's engagement in Greater China, a market that accounted for sales of €368.1 million in 2023 with 28.2% growth. Integrating a top-tier ambassador directly into the fitting process underscores a strategy of leveraging celebrity influence to drive both brand narrative and sales in a key region. For the Fall/Winter 2026 season, Tamburini is pushing the brand's aesthetic toward something more sensuous and corporeal, reframing protection as seduction. The collection's development showcased live artisans at work, a concept the house calls "artisanal intelligence," reaffirming its commitment to craft in an era of digital acceleration. This creative refresh is set against a challenging market.
