“It’s Not Fashion, It’s Style”: Tod’s FW24

FRIDAY FEB. 23, 2024 1:23 PM MILAN.

At Matteo Tamburini’s first collection as the creative director of Italian luxury brand Tod’s, a new “Tod’s woman” was born, and our editors were dying to meet her. “I want to know that woman,” said our editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg, who, along with fashion director Dara and a very mysterious and iconic third person, fell in love with her late-’90s chicness, snappy pants, and investment-worthy coats.

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MEL OTTENBERG: It’s Mel, Dara, and a great icon that shall remain nameless. Is that ok?

ANON: Yes, that’s fine. 

OTTENBERG: We’re riding in a car and we’re going to talk about the Tod’s Show, which was excellent.

DARA: It took place in the train station.

ANON: The train station was very very beautiful, and I’m sorry, the heated bench? 

OTTENBERG: The benches were incredible. There were metal benches with beautifully made cushions with heat tech inside those cushions.

ANON: I can tell you that they got warm.

OTTENBERG: Yeah, my butt was warm. Anonymous icon says they were watching me throughout the whole show. What was I giving you face-wise? 

ANON: You were concentrating on the fashion in front of you. But I have a new thing that it’s not fashion, it’s style.

DARA: Yes.

ANON: And that had a lot of style.

OTTENBERG: I just got so excited seeing it. I really want to know that woman. I want to put women in those clothes. I want women to dress like that. There was a black leather blazer that was so cool.

ANON: But also the wide pant.

OTTENBERG: Yeah! The wide pant with the trench coat.

ANON: There’s kind of an origami thing going on here where the crease is very pronounced and snappy.

DARA: Snappy is a good word. It’s the break in the ankle. It’s very structured.  

OTTENBERG: In the season of coats, I think that Tod’s trench coat is hitting on desires right now and I would suggest buying it.

ANON: It’s called investment buying. That lasts forever.

OTTENBERG: Now that’s an investment ladies.

DARA: There’s also a garment bag bag. It’s a tote that’s shaped like a garment bag.

ANON: Half a garment bag. 

DARA: I thought it was a full garment bag, but now I’m looking at the photo and it’s cut in half.

OTTENBERG: This designer seems to love Margiela for Hermès, and that’s a great place to draw from because it was so good. 

DARA: It’s really long but flat.

ANON: In a perfect world, any papers you have, you put in a plastic file, and you pop it right down there.

OTTENBERG: Wait what are you talking about? In the garment bag?

ANON: Yeah, because you can’t rifle through it.

DARA: No, this is a little flat file. Nice colors, nothing annoying. 

ANON: A little bit of fringe. 

DARA: That red leather dress with the fringe on the back was really beautiful. Did you see that?

ANON: I think it was a scarf, almost. 

DARA: I thought it was a bag handle at first, and then she turns around and she’s fully covered with fringe. 

OTTENBERG: There’s also some of the best black that I’ve seen this week. And perfect pants. I saw some stupid pants yesterday, but these were great. Now I’m gonna turn this off and talk about those stupid pants.