Last week on my column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, I wrote about my visit to the Tod's factory and headquarters in Brancadoro, Italy. If you didn't get a chance to read about it, you can find the whole story HERE.
I want to share more photos from that visit, so you get a feel of how the tour/ walkabout went :)
Drawing on the cardboard shoe last. Before approval of shoe design, the team makes the prototype using crosta, which is a low quality leather, to see proportions. It takes at least seven samples before shoe goes into production.
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| From the initial drawings to the final product! The signature gommino loafer |
From the design lab, it was a short walk to the factory which houses the leather warehouse. The place was massive. Rows and rows of leather!!!! And it was really quite a sight!
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| Everything properly tagged. It's a leather library!! |
And then there it was, the Tod's exotics "Cage".
*Jaw drops* Seeeeriously Maaaaajor!!!!
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| Rows and rows of them! And all these exotic skins come with CITES certificates |
Meet Tony Ripani, the resident leather expert who has been with Tod's for over 40 years! :) He knows EVERYTHING about leather. EVERYTHING! The leather quality control team makes sure to leave no stone unturned.
Tony explained the different types of skin. Check out these python skins!
And then we moved onto the factory.
Shoes that were not yet finished!
The loafers. Still made by hand!
Found a stack of Tod's ballerina flats on the side :)
Handpacked! Unbox your Tod's shoes carefully-- they were packed by one of these women :)
More photos tomorrow. I am having difficulty uploading them all now for some reason. Internet speed isn't quite coping. Enjoy these photos (and haha drool on "The Cage" photo :D)
x
TheBagHag