Posted in Arts, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged Diego Della Valle, fashionable quotes, Roman Colosseum, Tod's on August 27, 2018| 1 Comment »
Photo: Vanity Fair, March 2018.
I prefer quality to luxury. Luxury can become tacky when it’s too much. You have to have the perfect mix of good taste and charm.
Diego Della Valle – president and CEO of the Tod’s Group, a leading Italian fashion brand.
The man behind the popular Tod’s driving moccasin is also the man behind the reconstruction of the Colosseum in Rome (he pledged $34 million).
To give generously to one’s community – that’s pure good taste!
Posted in Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged Diego Della Valle, fashionable quotes, Tod's on August 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »
We do not need the designer in the classic sense, for us, because I think that figure has become, except in some cases, a bit of a hindrance to projects.
– Diego Della Valle, President and CEO of Tod’s, an Italian leather goods brand.
Yes, this is the latest trend in corporate-run fashion brands.
For a bit of history: In the late 1980s corporations went on a shopping spree, recognizing the cache of faded fashion houses – Dior, Givenchy, Lanvin to name a few. Then they searched for up-and-coming designers. The modern approach and edgy looks of Alber Elbaz and Alexander McQueen for example, plus a big marketing budget, revitalized these fashion names and turned the houses into popular global brands. Once that goal was achieved (and designers began pushing back on the increasing demands made upon them) it seems the corporations have decided that “the designer” isn’t needed anymore. It can be done by inside managers and CEOs and perhaps a stable of creatives who keep it all going, minus any credit or the big bucks.
Well now, let’s see how that works out.
Posted in Fashion, tagged Bridget Foley, Diego Della Valle, Elsa Schiaparelli, fashionable quotes, Women's Wear Daily on July 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Bridget Foley. Photo: Getty Images.
… houses have become brands, administered by ceo’s; some are parts of great luxury groups, brands unto themselves. Their operating principle (if not the price of their wares) is practically Marxist: The brand is supreme. The individual exists for the good of the brand.
– Bridget Foley, Executive Editor for Women’s Wear Daily
In her WWD column on June 28th 2012, Ms. Foley discusses the issue of corporations buying closed fashion houses and then hiring designers to help set the tone and style of the new brand sporting the old name. The designer becomes all about the brand.
I’ve been following this trend and the latest is Diego Della Valle’s purchase of the Schiaparelli name. Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer popular from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Her house closed in 1954. Vinatge Schiaparelli pieces are highly collectable.
Mr. Valle is President and CEO of Tod’s, a high-end Italian shoe and handbag company. As of now, the new Schiaparelli brand has set up offices in NYC and they are in the process of looking for a designer. The intent is to unveil the reinvented line in January 2013. How ironic that the Schiaparelli name, one of the first to blend art with fashion back in the 1930s, will now be a corporate brand. It will be interesting to see how the hired designer will rework the distinctive Schiaparelli style for a modern audience.
