RADICAL OPTIMISM

In an exclusive interview with Harper's BAZAAR Singapore, Tod's new creative director Matteo Tamburini talks about bringing his vision to reality, and his goals for the Italian House.

- AARON KOK

In a cavernous train depot, set against a backdrop of streetcars painted in bright marigold and rows of industrial lights, models strode out in a wardrobe of clean, sober tailoring, draped silhouettes with belt buckles resembling vintage car grilles, sculptural knits and polished leather separates. The colours reflected the clean, industrialist feeling of the space—slate blues, mahogany, pewter grey, blacks and pops of bright raspberry hues. Bags this season came in the shape of a roomy tote or a structured top-handle purse.

This is a Tod’s collection, after all—a global brand known for its signature approach to interpreting the mythic ethos of Italian elegance. With over 100 years of rich history, Tod’s has found the sweet spot in balancing fashion’s industrialist nature with a respect for beauty and refinement, and bringing this appreciation for Italian sprezzatura beyond Italy.

Back in Milan, and at the centre of the flurry of the fall/winter 2024 show, is Matteo Tamburini.

Announced last December as the new creative director at Tod’s, this was his first show with the brand and Tamburini wanted this to be his love letter to Milan.

“The main inspiration for the collection stemmed from the city of Milan, and the duality of the city,” he tells BAZAAR Singapore. “We wanted to translate the urban dynamism of the city, and we sought to blend the formal with the bourgeois. These outfits were looks that you could actually see walking in the streets of Milan.”

He also checked off a list of reference points, including the Pirelli Building designed by Gio Ponti, Umberto Boccioni’s sculptures, as well as photographs of celeb street style from the Nineties featuring Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman and Lady Diana in a long camel coat with white sneakers out in London. “Each of these references were chosen to translate this duality, and it’s something that I believe is key to the city of Milan,” Tamburini explains.