Tod’s Factory Unveils Capsule With Hender Scheme
MILAN — The latest Tod’s Factory capsule will be unveiled today in a collaboration with Japanese brand Hender Scheme, founded by designer Ryo Kashiwazaki.
Tod’s and Kashiwazaki share an expertise in footwear. Born in Tokyo in 1985, the designer started his career in a shoe factory when he was a university student in 2005.
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He founded the brand Hender Scheme in 2010, with a focus on shoes and sneakers. Hender Scheme has been presenting its collections in Paris since the fall 2015 season.
For the Tod’s Factory capsule, Kashiwazaki worked with Tod’s creative director Walter Chiapponi and the artisans at the company’s factory in the Marche region.
Kashiwazaki created a capsule collection of shoes, bags and apparel all produced in Italy by Tod’s, revisiting the brand’s signature elements with his own creativity and experimental approach. “I feel so lucky to have had this experience,” he said during an interview at the Tod’s headquarters in Milan ahead of the unveiling. “I had fun at a moment that was difficult for everyone due to the pandemic. It made me feel alive.”
Kashiwazaki underscored his respect for Tod’s artisans, their craftsmanship and centuries-old techniques. Despite his own expertise in shoemaking, he said he was surprised by the ability of the artisans at the Tod’s plant, while “sharing a common language with them.”
He explained that his idea was “to flip the Tod’s logo and Dot’s is the result. At the same time, I focused on the dots of the gommino sole, which I see as pebbles. So, I interpreted the gommino pebbles as dots, and I expanded the collection working on this idea.” The proportions of the gommino are blown up on the sole of an ankle boot or on a tasseled loafer, for example. “The dot also represents the circularity of the project and the dots on the line that connects the two brands,” he said. Tod’s Oboe bag is rendered even more rounded, with three different straps to adapt to different needs.
For the first time, Kashiwazaki created a number of ready-to-wear pieces, such as a trenchcoat, a tracksuit, a chunky knit shawl, shirts, denim pants and trousers.
The capsule collection can be worn by both men and women and is seasonless.
The designer also conceived whimsical pieces such as a wine bottle holder. “After I met Mr. [Tod’s chairman Diego] Della Valle in Japan a couple of years ago, he sent me a bottle of the wine he produces when I opened my second store, so this was my inspiration,” the designer offered.
The capsule collection will be presented during Milan Fashion Week and will be available immediately in select Tod’s boutiques, on tods.com, at 10 Corso Como in Milan and Seoul, Dover Street Market in Tokyo, Beijing and Singapore and Hender Scheme’s flagship store, Sukima Ebisu, and Sukima, the official online store.
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Tod’s Factory was launched in 2018 with the goal of creating unconventional projects with designers and artists from the world of luxury and design, unveiling different collections throughout the year, as well as capsules and limited editions. The designers reinterpret Tod’s style and heritage through their own creativity.
Following collaborations with Alessandro Dell’Acqua in 2018 and Alber Elbaz in 2019, the brand teamed with Maiko Kurogouchi last year, the designer behind the Japanese label Mame Kurogouchi, who created an exclusive rtw and accessories capsule.
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